Friday Night Death Slot:

Dec 23, 2005
If any of you watch primetime every night then you know how many shows fear Friday nights and how it’s the night with usually the most line-up changes in the whole week. One show from NBC and CBS came back to see another day and FOX’s entire Friday night was scrapped. ABC only had two shows return and UPN moved wrestling to that night getting rid of Star Trek: Enterprise. The WB usually does pretty awful with its comedy block on that night as well. FOX’s Friday night line-up is famous for its shows that usually only last a couple weeks but get a popular cult following. Firefly, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Johnny Zero, and now Killer Instinct are just a few of the failed shows. I’ve even started calling it the FOX TV show of the week due to their short lived lives. However some shows have done well on that night. CSI and Law & Order: SVU are their networks top rated programs and each of them started on Friday. The X-Files also started on a Friday before being moved to Sunday. NUMB3RS which airs on CBS, is the top-rated program of the night and actually does pretty well.

So why is it that these shows fail so miserably? The answer is that most people aren’t watching TV on a Friday night but with DVRs playing a big role in Television these days, you would think that these shows could do a little better. The death count so far is five (Inconceivable, Three Wishes, Hot Properties, Killer Instinct and Threshold which debuted on Fridays but was moved and then axed). That number is pretty much on par with last year's death count on that night as well. The cancellations on this night have gotten so bad that when a show is moved there it usually means its entering its final season. CBS’s trio of Ghost Whisperer, Close to Home, and NUMB3RS is so far a winning trio but who knows how long this success can go on for. Sci-Fi Channel enjoys huge success from its Friday night line-up of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica. Friday’s seem like a good night for Sci-fi though it couldn’t save Enterprise. We can only try to help them but Friday is and will be for quite some time, a death slot for all those who venture into it.

TV On DVD:

January 4th, 2006
The TV DVD has revolutionized the way we watch and enjoy television. Entire seasons can be watch in one sitting thanks to them and they even contributed to the rebirth of Family Guy. But how much should we have to pay to get our hands on our favorite shows?

A TV DVD generally sells between twenty and fifty dollars depending on which genre. It’s a good deal when you figure that you are paying two dollars to see an episode but you can watch them as many times as you want and most of them contain bonus features. However, Science fiction television DVDs typically cost you between seventy and a hundred and twenty dollars for a regular twenty to twenty-five episode seasons with some exceptions. Why is it that these shows cost three times more than a typical show of another genre? Star Trek DVDs are the worst offenders of trying to rip off fans. A Deep Space Nine Season currently costs a whopping 117 dollars on amazon.com and the entire Trek library costs over 3,000 dollars. Farscape is also notorious fro insanely high priced sets. The most likely reason for the high price is because Trekkies are some of the most loyal fans ever. Is this the way Paramount thanks its supporters for 39 years of loyalty? It seems to have worked though. Of the top fifty best selling TV DVDs of 2004 nine of them were Star Trek. It tells you that you can get away with ripping off your fans but the prices sure turned me off and I’m an owner of over thirty television DVDs, none of which I paid over fifty dollars for.

It’s not just Trek though. HBO’s dramas usually cost sixty dollars for a half seasons worth of episodes. Babylon 5, Andromeda, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World are some of the other offenders of over-priced merchandise. Check out the list below.

Note: All prices come from Amazon.com

Family Guy Volume 3 - $25.98
Law & Order: The Fourth Year - $36.99
Farscape The Complete Fourth Season - $134.99
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Season 1 - $116.99
Angel: Season 1 - $44.99

As you can see, you can add Angel Law & Order and Family Guy’s prices together and it’d still cost you less that Farscape or Trek. Why should we have to pay four times as much for the same amount of episodes? Someone told me that the numbers of DVDs in the set come into play but that hardly makes sense. If Angel can fit 22 episodes on six discs why does Carnivale and Deadwood need the same amount for twelve? For that matter Stargate SG-1 finds it possible to use only five discs so the price range really makes no sense at all. Until prices go down I refuse to pay that much money and I encourage you to do the same.

Back to the Futurama:

January 5, 2006
As a devoted Futurama fan I felt it my duty to report this news as quickly as possible. While only talks of its return are being negotiated, this is good news for the show. It will be the second time that Fox will revive one of its cartoons. Family Guy which broke records and made history came back last May. There were talks of a Futurama DVD release but Variety reported today that there are talks for new episodes of the cult television show.

While Futurama hasn’t done as well as Family Guy has, it has still performed very well as part of Adult Swim and the DVD sales have been solid. Since Family Guy’s return, it has been performing very well even against Desperate Housewives. It was only a matter of time before viewers started to wonder when Futurama would also get its day of glory. Even the Family Guy movie had a shout out to the possible revival. The odds are very good that Fox will order new episodes.

If Fox is smart they will add Futurama to their “Animation Domination” slot right after The Simpson’s where The War at Home currently lies. The War at Home show has been critically bombed and it would make sense to air a full two hour animation block. Unfortunately for all you King of the Hill fans, the show will not be returning for an eleventh year so by the time Futurama returns it will likely be off the air.

While I can’t really think of any other shows that this new trend of reviving old shows could affect, I think it has made the networks pay more attention to DVD sales. They have become an important part of the television industry and I hope they continue to help shows survive.

Crime Dramas: Why the Mass Numbers Remain Successful:

January 9, 2006
One of the most interesting things on television is how all the Law & Orders and CSI’s continue to survive despite the fact that there is very little to no character development on the shows. They follow a plotline that is referred to as an every plot, or show where the plot is almost exactly the same in every show. Anyone who has watched Law & Order over the years can tell you how each case gets solved without seeing the episode. CSI and Law & Order aren’t the only ones who use this format however. Without a Trace, Crossing Jordan, NCIS, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, NUMB3RS, and Bones are the other shows where almost every episode is basically the same except for different scripts, characters, and the occasional plot twist.

No critic out there can give you a solid reason why NCIS’s numbers have jumped so much but there is a pattern going on. All of CBS’s crime dramas are doing extremely well. Crime dramas make up half of CBS’s primetime line-up (Sun-Fri). Many people enjoy that the plot is resolved within an hour and that you can start watching whenever you want because the characters are not the main focus. Others are just attacted tocop shows. Each show has its own thing that differs it from the rest which explains how all of them are relatively successful. One thing is for sure, at this rate there will be a lot of crime dramas on TV for a very long time.

Conviction: Law & Order Spin-off or Not?:

January 15, 2006
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately regarding Conviction a new show by Law & Order creator Dick Wolf that bears a shocking resemblance to the most recent L&O spin-off Trial by Jury which was cancelled last year. It does not bear the Law & Order name is it is supposed to be more character driven which is something that no Law & Order has ever really had. With that being the evidence I would have to say that it would not be considered part of the franchise but new evidence has been brought into play. Stephanie March has signed on to reprise her role as Alexandra Cabot from Law & Order: SVU.

A spin-off usually is achieved by two ways. One is a character from a show gets their own show. If it came directly after the first ended it would be considered a sequel series such as Joey was a sequel series to Friends. A show like Angel or Stargate Atlantis would not be sequel series but companion series to Buffy and Stargate SG-1. The other way a spin-off can be achieved is when an idea introduced on one show is made into a show like how CSI introduced Miami and New York. Conviction would fall under this category but the original Law & Order would be more of a grandfather to it. Surprisingly enough so would Homicide” Life on the Street due to the fact that Richard Belzer is on Law & Order: SVU as Detective John Munch.

Whether or not Conviction will be a canon part of the franchise or even bare the same name it is part of the L&O family. It’s unlikely that it will bear the name due to the resemblance of Trial by Jury. Hopefully it will live up to the franchise and maybe pull NBC a little more out of the can.

Time To Say Goodbye: A Tribute to the Shows of the 90’s:

January 22, 2006
Since the dawn of the new millennium we have lost a lot of shows from the 90’s but this year took a lot of them away. 7th Heaven, Will & Grace, and The Sopranos are a few of the ones we’ve known about for awhile but recently it was announced that and That 70’s Show will be joining them. Malcolm in the Middle will also end its run. Wikipedia also says that King of the Hill will end this year as well though that has been kept quiet by Fox. The West Wing is also most likely in its final frontier. I wanted to take the time to reflect on each of these programs as all of them have been with us a very long time. Of the six shows I mentioned only two of them are going out naturally; The Sopranos and Will & Grace.

7th Heaven – Easily The WB’s most successful show ever. It got too expensive to keep around but it has become the longest running family show of all time. It also aired in the Monday 8-9 slot its entire run which is something few shows can say. Who knows what the WB’s line-up will look like next year but it will lose a bit of its history.

Will & Grace – One of NBC’s funniest sitcoms and even though it didn’t draw spectacular ratings it still remained one of TV’s best shows. I always hated the laugh track but I never stopped watching and I’m glad it finally got to kick off the Must See TV Thursday line-up as it always deserved to.

The Sopranos – HBO’s most successful show ever. I really don’t know what HBO will do without The Sopranos but it has been one of TV’s best. Redefining the term provocative it was a pioneer and TV will never be the same without it.

King of the Hill – It fell victim to the 7:00 timeslot and it was never as good as Family Guy or The Simpsons but where would we be without something to com pare it too. It had a lot of funny moments in its ten year run and I’m sad that it won’t be around if Futurama returns giving Fox the opportunity to air a full 3 hour comedy slot with the addition of another show.

That 70’s Show – Of the six shows on this list I think I’ll miss this show the least but I do think the idea was original and it was funny at times. It’s couldn’t bounce back form losing Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher and I think it’s time for it to go.

The West Wing – Not officially cancelled but NBC would be stupid to renew it because of its high production. It’s sad because it was actually interesting this season and it really had potential with the election.

Sci-Fi Bounces Back on Cable Networks:

January 28, 2006
My first article as TV Hell’s reporter was about whether or not Sci-fi was dying. When Sci-fi recently announced its list of new programs I was amazed at how many were on the list and I’m still wondering where a genre based cable network is getting the money for all these new shows. Here the list of new shows.

Eureka – a show about people who live in an ordinary town but are really scientists performing experiments. The whole superpower thing makes me think of The 4400 and I’m looking forward to this one.

The Dresden Files – the story of detective Harry Dresden who posses supernatural powers and solves crime. This one makes me think of Millennium and I think it could be good.

Who Wants to be a Superhero? – One of Sci-Fi’s three new reality series. Comic book legend Stan Lee hosts a Project Runaway like competition where people must make there own superhero.

Medium at Large – This one looks like a version of the Pet Psychic. It follows the adventures of psychic Char Morgolis. I’m not that into the whole psychic thing but if Ghost Hunters works than I guess this could.

The Gift – the last of the three reality series. This one follows contestants who compete with each using their psychic abilities. I don’t know how this one will do but weirder things have stayed on the air.

The Bridge – Sort of a Dead Like Me kind of dramedy about people who are trapped in purgatory. It could be pretty funny.

Warehouse 13 – a show about a bunch of federal employees and an attorney who are trapped in a storage facility.

Sci-fi also got the rights to air the latest Doctor Who adventures from the BBC and it also has teamed up with Stephen Spielberg for a twelve hour minis-series called Nine Lives about people who reconnect with the dead by going through experiences that can almost kill them. Spielberg last teamed up the Sci-fi with his mini-series Taken which got good ratings. Sci-fi will come out with Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King its newest mini-series later this year. Spike TV also entered the Sci-Fi business with its first scripted series about Blade, which will come out this summer. Wesley Snipes will not be in it though. My one concern is that Sci-fi will now have as many series as UPN and I wonder if all of them get good ratings, what Sci-fi will do. The new shows join Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Ghost Hunters, and Tripping the Rift. They will have 13 series to air which is more than the number of shows that USA, FX, and TNT have. Not all of them will survive but Sci-Fi is making a statement with its new programming and hopefully it draws the attention that it deserves.

The CW: What’s the Point?:

January 28, 2006
As some of you have probably found out, UPN and The WB will be merging at the start of the 06-07 television season. I’ve been against this for several reasons. First of all their averages will either stay the same of slowly improve a little bit but no one should expect drastic changes immediately. My other strong case is that many shows will be victim to cancellation during the merger. A proposed 13 hour plan will be enough to save most of the shows but it isn’t really fair to fans of shows like Cuts or One on One which will probably not be part of the merger. I also have a lot of problems with proposed line-up plans so I decided to make my own. I might also add that Arrested Development will not be joining the network despite Entertainment Weekly’s decision to put it in their line-up version. My line-up depicts what time-slot is best for each shows based on past experiences.

Monday – This is the one thing everyone can agree on. I think a night starting off with Everybody Hates Chris followed by a new show then Girfriends and another new show. UPN and The WB have some pretty bad comedies and its time that the forever unfnny Reba bites the dust. The WB will most likely cancel Related and ironically 7th Heaven goes off the air the year the network does leaving this slot to happen.

Tuesday – Everyone wants a Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars pair up and that does make sense. However Veronica Mars should get the 8:00 slot because last year it barely survived in the 9:00 position. There is no real reason that it should go back there. If Gilmore Girls does go off the air then I would let this spot go to a new show. This could be a pretty powerful night.

Wednesday – For the 8:00 slot I would go with a rotating Beauty and the Geek/ America’s Next Top Model. For the 9:00 I would give it to either the Aquaman project or a new show. The CW’s success will come from its new programming as opposed to the old ones so I left a lot of slots open.

Thursday – I think pairing a 7th Heaven spin-off with Everwood could be a good duo considering the competition. The CW pretty much has to forfeit the night and even though Smallville does well I think that Thursdays could be a good family night given what the other networks have. If the 7th Heaven thing falls through I might be inclined to put Reba and Out of Sync on but that would be a last resort.

Friday – This one was really hard. I don’t want to put on anything Sci-fi because of Sci-fi Friday. I also do not want Smack Down to be continued for a couple of reasons. I always thought that UPN only used it to fill their decrepit line-up and I’ve always found it unprofessional. To donate a complete night to wrestling is something The CW should not do and it should focus on scripted programming to gain viewers. It’s unlikely that Smack Down will get any more viewers. I chose to put the new show Cult on even though it goes against my instincts and I would leave the 9:00 slot to either a new show or a combo of some of The WB or UPN comedies that wouldn’t make it (Eve, What I Like About You, Twins). Saturday would be a good night fir the WWE if they havea big enough budget.

Sunday – This is a bold move but I think it’s a smart one. I would air a three hour sci-fi block that starts with Charmed followed by Supernatural and ending with Smallville. Smallville beaten the odds so many times that its fans will help it survive against Desperate Housewives. I don’t think Supernatural would be able to survive against it and this line-up would be different than any of Sunday night on the other four networks.

This is just my opinon on what should happen but I did try and create the best possible combinations. If you want to make your own fantasy line-up you can post it on our message board or you can e-mail us.

The Cable Wars:

Feb 3, 2006
Cable Television has really taken a big jump in quality over the years with a lot of additions of original programming. The channels that originally just gave us re-runs now offer quality shows to compete with the trash network TV offers. But with new shows comes new competition. Networks like USA and FX which have held the crown for some time are now facing competition from TNT, TBS, and Spike TV.

Original programming on cable networks is still a fairly new thing. The numbers were very scarce in the 90’s but it really has started to catch on. Some of the shows have even started to air in the fall and winter, directly against network TV and Nip/Tuck, Monk, and The Shield do just fine in it. FX is being called the new HBO despite its limitations and it’s known for its over the edge provocative programming. So what makes cable TV different than network TV? First of all the overall number of episodes is usually shorter. A standard season would be between 13 and 16 episodes. With the exception of the Sci-fi Friday line-up, any scripted programming on any cable network generally follows this rule. Because of this rule, many shows have one major plotline with several subplots in it. So you might be wondering which network will have the bragging rights as to who is the cable king.

I chose to omit Sci-fi Channel and Comedy Central from this comparison because they are genre-specific networks limiting what programming will go on the channels. The big three of cable television are FX, USA, and TNT. Even though TNT launched The Closer last summer, putting it in the running, it still can’t compete with FX and USA. Though the network has not officially canned Wanted it is unlikely that they will keep it on their roster. FX currently has the biggest line-up with six shows. While USA only has three shows it can be said that Monk, The 4400, and The Dead Zone put up a strong fight against The Shield, Nip/Tuck, and Rescue Me which are FX’s three main hits. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and 30 Days are the two weaker shows that are on FX’s line-up. FX has a new show called Thief which will debut this summer. I don’t think that USA has any new shows planned for this summer. Thief joins Spike TV’s first scripted show Blade, Sci-Fi’s Eureka and The Dresden Files, and TNT’s Saved. USA and FX are really the two cablers that are fighting for first place. FX three major shows draw more consistently high ratings that USA’s do so for now I’d give the crown to FX but it is still early in the game and I still say the title could be considered up for grabs. May the best network win (yea I know I already used that line).

This Year’s Most Likely Candidates to Enter TV Hell:

Feb 12, 2006
It’s that time again folks. TV Hell usually gets pretty busy this time of year and this year will be no exception. While no actual cancellations have been announced yet I have looked at all of TV’s finest and I drafted a list of shows that aren’t likely to return. I did it by network. Because of the UPN/WB merger I omitted both networks from the list. If you have any questions about them see my CW article or e-mail us. Here’s the list.

CBS – While the network is in no trouble it does have some weak points. The Amazing Race gave us a weak performance this year. I doubt Love Monkey will come back either. The entire Sunday, Thursday, and Friday line-ups should be expected to return. I don’t know what CBS plans to do with Yes Dear and Still Standing and the only other thing on their line-up I would question is Out of Practice. Other than that it’s been a fairly good year.

NBC – You can’t really say the same thing for NBC however. Of its new shows, My Name is Earl is the only one that would definitely be returning. I think that they will be more inclined to renew their two new shows, Conviction and Heist than they would with Surface or E-Ring. Originally E-Ring wasn’t doing too badly but it’s unlikely that it will return. Surface is really a 50/50 but there isn’t really a spot that it will do well in. Four Kings hasn’t been doing well so I think that Scrubs will be renewed over it. Scrubs will be the oldest comedy that NBC has if it gets renewed. Joey is most likely to be cancelled as well. Once again a poor year the once hot network.

ABC – The thing about ABC is that it’s fueled by a couple powerhouse shows and then the rest of its line-up does alright. It has a very strong Sunday line-up but its Monday night line-up could use some work. Wife-swap and The Bachelor are solid but not great performers. The biggest show in question is Commander in Chief. It has lost over six million viewers since its very strong start. It also got its season order cut by four episodes. I can’t really predict what will happen but I doubt Commander will bounce back from being slaughtered by American Idol. Invasion stands a very good chance at being renewed and they should give their Friday night line-up another chance.

FOX – FOX is on fire this year. Prison Break and Bones are both most likely to be renewed and even though the Friday night curse is still around, the network has produced a lot of hits this year. One thing they need to work on is comedy. Arrested Development failed two years in a row so you can’t really blame FOX for getting rid of it. It’s also hard to say whether or not Bernie Mac will be renewed but it hasn’t been doing too well this year. Family Guy and American Dad also got the thumbs up for new episodes. If FOX is smart then they will get rid of Stacked. FOX had a great year but they still need to work on their comedies.

If I forgot anything g that you have a question about then feel free to e-mail us.

Anti-Heroes:

Feb 14, 2006
Whether or not you notice them anti-heroes are some of the most common characters found on television. Often known as the people we love to hate they are some of TV’s guiltiest pleasures. But have you ever wondered why you like anti-heroes so much.

An anti-hero is typically one of the main characters of a story who generally exhibits positive traits but also shares many traits that an antagonist would have. Dr. House from House, Al Swearegen from Deadwood, Sawyer and Ana-Lucia from Lost, Tommy Gavin from Rescue Me, The entire cast of Desperate Housewives and The Sopranos, and Vic Mackey from the Shield are just a few of TV’s anti-heroes. Though anti-heroes aren’t usually bad people they are often driven mad by something that has happened in their past. A good example is how Sawyer’s guilt often causes him to do bad things. There’s a pattern of shows with anti-heroes and shows with good ratings here.

I think that the main thing why anti-heroes are so successful is that they liven things up. There are many more dimensions to the characters than there are with a lot of normal characters. We also always want to see their next move so we keep tuning in to see what they will do next. Anti-heroes are often unpredictable and the outcome of their actions is always surprising. Cult shows often include an anti-hero because of the addiction some people have with the character. Got to love them got to hate them but they do keep things worth watching.

The Importance of Lead-Ins in TV Today:

Feb 22, 2006
Many people overlook the multiple ways that a network tries to get you to stay tuned for the next program. Sure the many commercials throughout the previous program help sway you to keep watching but have you ever though of the other possible ways that the networks try to make sure you don’t go to watch something else. Lead-ins affect TV in ways we overlook every day.

For those of you who don’t know what a lead-in is its very simple. A lead-in is nothing more than the program that comes before another program. Generally speaking, shows that air back to back try to hit the same target audience so that the maximum number of people stay tuned for the next show. CSI and Without a Trace are two similar shows that air back to back which use this strategy and they have had a lot of success. CBS even started Criminal Minds off in the post CSI slot before moving it just to help give the show some exposure. In recent weeks The Office has retained 91% of My Name is Earl’s audience. In Grey’s Anatomy’s case it has even performed better than Desperate Housewives does. In all three of these cases it is unlikely that each show would achieve such a big audience without the show before it. A comedy lead-in is much less important than a drama lead-in because a lot more people will be more likely to stay tuned in for another half hour as opposed to another full hour.

So why is it that a lead-in is so important? Take Law & Order vs. CSI: NY for example. Last year it was neck and neck but now CSI: NY has taken the lead by a considerable amount. It’s not all because Law & Order is showing its age. Criminal Minds has given CSI: NY a lot more people who will stay tuned and NBC hasn’t really put anything in the pre L&O slot all year that has stuck around. Take Sci-Fi’s Friday night line-up as another example. Even though Friday’s are considered a death slot a lot of the same people tune in for all three shows which gives the three shows a much bigger audience than if they were all on separate nights. A lot of HBO’s programming competed to debut in the post Sex and the City and post Soprano slot. Established shows that air before a new show give it a jump start and shield it from as much competition as possible. Compatibility is the number one factor. CSI leading into Grey’s Anatomy wouldn’t make much sense even though both of them are ratings tycoons. I get asked a lot why Invasion doesn’t do as well as it should given the Lost lead in and my only real explanation is that most people may not really like it. Lead ins are a huge factor but they can’t be expected to save everything.

How Much Do Fans Really Matter:

Feb 24, 2006
Die hard fans have been around for as long as television has. They are the ones who brought Star Trek back to life and established it as one of the biggest cult franchises ever. Fans of Firefly or Browncoats managed to get a failed 14 episode show to the big screen. So how important are these people in television today.

Most people associate die-hard fans with science fiction but there are plenty of die-hard fans in every genre. Fan and critic support is what kept Homicide: Life on the Street on the air for seven seasons. A lot of people credit the fans for the survival of Third Watch for six seasons even though it had moved time slots a number of times. These are just a few of the many times that fans have saved a show. Enough fan support has saved several shows in the past and it can in the future as well. TV DVDs have also contributed to whether a show gets renewed or not.

I bring this topic up because in a month or two the network execs are going to be making their decisions on what stays and what doesn’t. Arrested Development is one of the ones that fans are getting together to try and save and Surface is another one. Fans have already started to petition to get NBC and FOX to consider keeping them around. If the fans don’t act then Showtime will probably not resurrect Arrested Development. Now is the time to act and even though this is TV Hell, I’d rather see stuff I like stay on the air then have it be replaced by really worthless stuff. Everwood is not in The CW’s first draft but the damage is not irreversible. I got the list of e-mails you could hit if you want to tell the networks that you want to see your program still on the air. I’d be happy to send one too for anyone who wants me to. I ask that you send NBC an e-mail telling them to keep Surface on the air because I know a lot of people who really want it to stay on the air. It’ll take you about a minute and it will make a big difference. Thank you.

Contact E-mails NOTE – some sites do not offer and e-mail but a feedback service. It’s kind of annoying but it isn’t very hard to figure out.
(NBC) webmaster@nbc.com (NBC)
(CBS) There isn’t a specific contact e-mail but there is a feedback form on the main page. Go to cbs.com.
(ABC) http://abc.go.com/site/contactus.html this is where you can voice your opinion on a show.
(FOX) askfox@foxinc.com
(UPN) for feedback go to bottom left portion of the homepage. Upn.com
(The WB) faces@thewb.com
(HBO) You have to specify the show you want to talk about. This link is the homepage to that portion. http://www.hbo.com/corpinfo/faq.shtml.
(Showtime) http://showtime.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/showtime.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?.
(TNT) tnt@turner.com
(USA) feedback@usanetwork.com
(FX) user@fxnetworks.com
(Spike TV) It’s really annoying and hard to see. Feedback on the top right section of the main page of spiketv.com
(SCI-FI) feedback@scifi.com

If you have any further question on what network your show is on I know have a TV hell e-mail address. You can contact me at tvhellnews@hotmail.com. This e-mail should only be used when asking about the news and the schedule only. I don’t work on the main portion of the site so sending me cancellations doesn’t really help. Thank you for your support.

FX: The Cable HBO?:

March 2, 2006
FX is one of my favorite cable networks to talk about. They boast the biggest roster of original programming and they are the most daring. Even though their original programming does very well, the still lag behind competitors TNT and USA in terms of overall ratings. However FX certainly doesn’t lag behind in courage to air great provocative programming.

FX was one of the pioneers of original programming on cable nets with The Shield. It’s one of their biggest hits and it is no stranger to the Golden Globes and the Emmys. Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me are its two other biggest hits. The Shield and Nip/Tuck fight off fierce network competition in the Tuesday at 10 slot. FX is also one of the first cablers to pioneer into comedy. Last year they released Starved and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia but Starved quickly was mutilated by the critics and it got the boot. They also gave Super Size Me star Morgan Spurlock his own show titled 30 Days which will be returning in July. Steven Bochco’s Over There failed to attract a big enough audience in a world that wasn’t ready for it. FX also just announced that they have a new show in March called Black. White. which is about seeing what would happen if black and white families lived together. Thief is a new show starring Andre Braugher which I’ll talk more about in my summer preview. As you can see FX doesn’t really worry about controversy because most of it is created by the network.

The only real thing that stops FX from becoming a full replica of HBO is the censorship which is why all of its original programming airs at 10:00 pm or later (I don’t know what the rules are in other time zones). Every show they put out seems to be pushing the edges of television but most of them are generally well reviewed. Starved and Over There were the only two that really got bad reviews and both of them were cancelled after their run. USA and TNT generally don’t push the limits that much but TNT’s Wanted wasn’t exactly something for the major networks. As the competition grows fiercer it is going to take a lot more to stay in the game and I think FX has what it takes to really become a fine network. If only they could extend the seasons.

The Fall of the Laugh Track:

March 9, 2006
The laugh track is one of the most annoying thins on television and I’d really like to have a one on one with whoever made it. Sure mega hits like M*A*S*H, Seinfeld, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, and many more have had the but many shows are starting to not use them. I hope that every comedy will ditch them but that probably won’t happen until some the ones that don’t start drawing big ratings.

The laugh track came to existence in 1950 on the Hank McCune Show. It seemed to be a good idea to placed canned laughter to tell the viewers when to laugh even though anyone with a brain could figure out that the audience will laugh when something is funny. Every comedy on network television except animated ones, have them. Hour-long comedies usually don’t have them and cable and premium channels usually never have them. The list of prime time half hour comedies that don’t have them is very small and the ones that don’t usually do not last very long. Scrubs, The Office, and My Name is Earl are three of the current laugh trackless comedies on TV, all of them on NBC. Fox also has three on the air, Arrested Development, The Bernie Mac Show, and Malcolm in the Middle but Malcolm was cancelled, AD will probably be, and the fate of Bernie Mac is not good. UPN’s Everybody Hates Chris is the only other half hour show on prime-time without one. All of HBO and Showtime’s current comedies are without laugh tracks. All of these shows have been critically acclaimed and they do not follow typical sitcom procedure.

With the success of shows like My Name is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris people should ask themselves whether or not a laugh track is really essential to the survival of a show. I think what we need on TV is for a big show like Two and a Half Men to get rid of its laugh track to show the audience that it isn’t really that important. CBS’s Monday comedy line-up is successful and pretty funny and I think that’s a perfect place to start the laugh track revolution. Old habits die hard but it’s about time this one did.

HBO: Not The Network it Once Was?:

March 15, 2006
The Sopranos are finally back but they are back for a brief visit. When it departs next year it will leave The Wire as the current longest running HBO drama. The Sopranos will be joining HBO’s former hits such as Oz, Six Feet Under, and Sex and the City in the afterlife of HBO. It should be noted that none of these have lasted more than six seasons. The future of HBO is in question now that their flagship show is off the air.

HBO started its line of great drama with OZ back in 1997. This means that HBO has only been a real player for only nine years. Their years of glory truly began when Sex and the City entered in 1998. The Sopranos entered just a year later. Since then HBO has brought us the best in comedy and drama. It’s oldest show besides The Sopranos is the quasi-fictional show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Their hit mini-series Band of Brothers was in 2001 and provided a lot of exposure for the growing channel. Then they started losing more hits then they were gaining.

Oz was the first drama to start and the first to end. Though it was a sad day the future looked good with Deadwood and Carnivale starting up in 2003. Sex and the City ended in 2004 leaving a huge gap in their comedy line-up that even Entourage hasn’t been able to fill. The hilarious mockumnetary Da Ali G Show aired only twelve episodes between 2003 and 2005 which didn’t have much of an effect on their comedy situation. Lisa Kudrow’s The Comeback was a bomb and that leaves Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, and the ratings flop Extras. Curb Your Enthusiasm only has one more year left and no comedy has really become the next big thing. Deadwood, The Wire, Rome and Big Love are the dramas left on the network and none of them has lived up to the hype that The Sopranos or Six Feet Under have created. All four have excellent critical response but the ratings aren’t as good. Part of the reason may have to do with ABC’s new monopoly on Sunday, a night HBO used to own hands down. The Sopranos was down a bit in ratings from last season and Big Love did not do well given its lead in.

HBO is in a creative funk right now but I think they can pull through. Even though there is increased competition from Showtime, HBO has a lot more resources. I just hope that we don’t have to wait so long for new episodes of their shows.

Mini-series:

April 4, 2006
Mini-series have provided us with some of the most classic moments in television. Mini-series such as Roots or Brideshead Revisited are some of the most memorable mini-series. However I can’t remember the amount of times people have asked me when Empire Falls or The Triangle is coming back. Here’s a clear definition about what mini-series are all about.

Mini-series are generally categorized into three groups. One is the two-part movie. Empire Falls is a perfect example because it is three and a half hours long which is the run time of a fairly long movie. Miniseries such as Dune or The 4400 are much longer than an average movie so they fall under the category simply named mini-series. Shows such as Sleeper Cell or Band of Brothers air for full half seasons so people generally refer to them as limited series. Two-part movies and limited series are both mini-series but it isn’t uncommon for both terms to be used in magazines and news articles.

Here are some examples are mini-series, two part movies, and limited series in case you are confused.

Standard Mini-series: The 4400, Revelations, Roots.
Two-part Movies: Empire Falls, The Legend of Earthsea (disputable), Farscape: the Peacekeeper Wars (which was more of a two part finale to the series)
Limited Series: Sleeper Cell, Band of Brothers, I Love the 80’s.

Mini-series are often aired on channels such as Showtime, HBO, or the Sci-fi Channel to put more original programming into their line-ups. Networks use them to stand in for shows that usually can’t draw big ratings on re-runs. They are usually high profile and can range in budget depending on the network.

When asked if mini-series are more television or movie, analyze the series itself before answering the question. They aren’t always easy to define but some of my favorite things on TV have been mini-series. If one strikes your interest I encourage you to watch it because you get a lot more time to get to know the characters and understand the plot.