David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. Sluggard enthusiasm for The CW
Three days after the fall season has already begun, the nascent CW network – cobbled together from the tattered remains of The WB and UPN – embarks upon its – well, “bold� is too bold a word – experiment. Tonight, “America’s Next Top Model,� UPN’s nominal “hit,� premieres with a two-hour special. (Pretty girls bitching about one another for two hours – that’s how The CW plans to break through to audiences, even though in past seasons the show has done well to lure a mere 5 million viewers.)
Keith Marder, former WB publicist (and former L.A. Daily News TV critic), appeared before TV critics in July on behalf of the new network and wryly noted that The CW's new slogan was: “Two wrongs do make a right.�
The CW essentially melds the most promising shows from The WB and UPN. On its face, this description should not inspire much confidence. That tired rubric, “synergy,� applies here on only one night, Tuesday: Will “Gilmore Girls� lure any more viewers to the perennially ignored “Veronica Mars?�
About 25 new shows will debut this fall, only two from The CW: “Runaway� and “The Game.� So the new network looks to get ignored during its launch, as the nation’s TV critics will focus on new shows.
And The CW’s offerings are hardly breakout shows; at best, they’re programs that will perpetuate The CW’s previous incarnations’ reputations of being uninspired ratings grabbers. “The Game,� about women voraciously dependent upon football stars, is mildly amusing – but, it’s airing opposite NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,� which is all but assured to cannibalize “The Game’s� audience. (“Sunday Night Football� will likely turn up in the autopsy on one of The CW’s best shows, “Everybody Hates Chris,� which deserves a chance to find an audience beyond the African-American viewers The CW has consigned it to on Sunday.)
“Runaway,� a “Fugitive�-style show about an entire family on the lam, will be hard-pressed to engage anyone, given its generic concept.
(The fact that virtually no CW show challenges CBS's premieres -- genious overlord Les Moonves oversees the progress of both networks -- underscores its overall underrated value in the grand scheme of things.)
So, we’re left with that question of whether “Gilmore Girls� will inspire more viewers to watch “Veronica Mars,� and that’s contingent on whether “Gilmore Girls� fans are anxious to see Lorelai and Rory scripted by someone besides series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. I spoke to a 13-year-old recently who expressed severe misgivings whether the show could retain the same panache without Sherman-Palladino’s input. And, sure, you’ll say, she’s just 13, but when I spoke to her about “Survivor’s� segregated season, she was most thoughtfully appalled: “Are you kidding?� she demanded. So if 13-year-olds are so finely attuned to a show’s incipient jumping of the shark, you better expect that the rest of the country will be watching the show with equal measures of discretion.
The point is: “Gilmore Girls� could lose it this season. So its lead-in to “Veronica Mars� could count for squat.
What The CW truly needed was a splashy, breakout show that declared to viewers, ‘We’re not content with mediocre ratings.’ The network failed that test. This is a network that is hoping for good results from the justifiably ignored "One Tree Hill." That's all you need to know.
Comments
I'm holding onto a shred of hope that "Gilmore Girls" doesn't lose it.
Posted by: Suzy Q | September 20, 2006 2:58 AM