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. "Criminal" numbers
While the Super Bowl was watched by the traditional gazillions (about 93 million people - 63 percent of all TVs in use Sunday evening - were tuned to the Colts' smackdown of hapless Rex Grossman, the third-highest TV audience in history, following "M*A*S*H"'s finale and another Super Bowl), "Criminal Minds," the show hand-picked by the geniuses at CBS to follow the big event, sent viewers fleeing in droves. True, it was watched by about 26 million people in 17 million homes, making for its largest audience ever, but that was way down from last year's post-Bowl offering, "Grey's Anatomy," which had well north of 30 million viewers in more than 24 million homes stick around.
For one thing, it was a pretty creepy episode - or, as The Washington Post's Lisa de Moreas delights in calling the show, "pervy" - and that's not exactly what families gathered in the name of football are anxious to see. And after paying tribute to Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy and Chicago coach Lovie Smith's Christian faith after the game, viewers probably weren't in the mood to see a show about a religious lunatic chaining up women in negligees. Plus, it was just stupid in general (OK, so the wimpiest Feds on the squad are sent to question the psycho looney, and OK, so their cell phones don't work, but wouldn't their government-issued vehicle still have a radio with which they could contact the tough-guy Feds? Geez).
Oh, and promoting Craig Ferguson's special edition of his talk show like an episode of "Benny Hill?" Seems guaranteed to encourage anyone who didn't tune out of "Criminal Minds" to leave in droves.
As for the commercials, why does the rest of the media play along like dupes in hyping advertising, which most people generally find to be an irritant? Besides, the hype has really seemed to have frozen up the creative minds who create these things; by and large, the commercials really smacked of desperation. The only one I found truly funny was the car ad featuring the sad-faced assembly-line robot dreaming of getting fired and being forced into menial jobs and even contemplating suicide while the sappy pop ditty "All By Myself" played in the background. (Suicide = guaranteed laughs!)
Comments
That 26 million viewer total for "Criminal Minds" was also probably inflated by people who just wandered away from the TV after the game, getting more food or drink, going potty, or just discussing the game while ignoring the TV. I also fell asleep before Craig Ferguson came on, live from my home town, with Dan Marino, who, by that time, should rightfully have been in a coma. Curses!
Posted by: Suzy Q | February 5, 2007 5:43 PM