NBC is a troubled network. Let's get that out of the way. Other networks have crazy-popular TV franchises and series and the name of the game is viewership. Quirky shows don't do super well in a line-up crowded by quirk-fests such as Glee, Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother. However you look at it, or however you feel about quirky television, there are still lame-stream sitcoms being made in this era, and they are still watched. NBC has led the pack in terms of quality for a while. 2009 was a ridiculously strong season for them: 30 Rock at its peak (or just over it), Community out of the blue like a bolt of lightning, and Parks & Rec to round out the quirky slapdash humor.
But there was competition by shows that simply got more viewers. So the NBC lineup was always dwarfed by Two and a Half Men or American Idol or any type of one-dimensional trash. I've stopped watching television and I think the latest season of Community is the most inconsistent yet. I have more or less stopped watching or being excited about it, but there was at least one fantastic episode, so the show is not a write-off. There have been enough weak efforts, though, that the executive decision to shelve the program is not entirely surprising. There are simply not enough regular watchers to buoy the show, and the fans are a dedicated bunch but they're not the millions of people the show needs to survive.
The news is that NBC have moved Community off the roster of televised shows for the midseason (January). Whether this is to be competitive or what it means for the show remains to be seen. Obviously, television nerds are furious about this decision, especially since the reeking bomb that is Whitney has not been cancelled yet. And that show is probably the reeking bomb of the season, but I understand why it was made and why the network is still apparently supportive: the dumb pantywaist yuppie demographic needs its fix of lukewarm comedy, and Friends was so long ago, and so fondly remembered, that it would be foolish not to try and resurrect that kind of audience and show.
But nobody can recapture that magic. Friends had something that no contemporary similar show has captured. Perfect Couples was near to doing it but got canned just as things were heating up. Then the Paul Reiser show that NBC doesn't even acknowledge having broadcast. Things are tough at that network and there's just no coherent stance. They can't have too many Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, or Community-styled shows without appearing 'highbrow' or purveyors of 'comedy snobbery' so they have to pander to the folks who are still loyal to Two and a Half Men. Whatever. Some people watch television for background noise, or to simply stare at moving pictures, or to yawn and relax. Not everyone wants to think about a joke, remember a scene, or pay attention. That's how it is.
Well, Community may stay or it may be cancelled. Lots of good shows don't last long, and lots of bullshit keeps airing after any of its worth has expired. I believed television was more or less hopeless before Community and I'm sure another great show will come along. Eventually. Until then people can keep trying to make this into an issue. But it's not an issue, it's just a slight deviation from regular programming.
Showing posts with label situation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label situation. Show all posts
3/27/11
The Canadian Political Situation as of March 27, 2011
There are a shit ton of things I could blog about in this apocalyptic month. Shit I could even go the frivolous route and write about something that happened to me, or what I think of a recent movie, or Charlie Sheen. I got a good Charlie Sheen joke I'm holding onto for the first anniversary of the BP Oil Spill of 2010. I think I could write three parts about snow melting. I could even do another off-colour joke about school shootings.
But I'm going to dial it back a little and give everyone some breathing space whilst I write speciously about the political situation in Ottawa, Canada. With so much trouble in the world, it's only right that I do what the US MEDIA does relentlessly and contextualize it in the candy-coloured terms of geopolitics.
The effortless government of Stephen Harper finally rolled into the rough last week; parliament was dissolved, and the thing Canadians feared most (an election) finally rose out of the slightly toxic, slightly oily, slightly radioactive water of Canadian politics. What kicked it all off was a budget bill nobody agreed with, which led to slightly bemused finance minister who took it not at all personally saying that only time would tell.
If you ask any Canadian on the street, especially if they're unmarried and under the age of 30, they'll tell you they know nothing about the situation at all. Who could blame those fools for not caring about how their country is managed? Sorry, anybody who's lived under a repressive regime: things are so good in Canada that we can afford the fatal luxury of political apathy. Under these conditions it's pretty easy to see how professional politicians could shake up an election season out of nowhere: with strife and struggle raging all over the world, they just wanted a piece of the action.
I've seen ministers out on the streets begging for lights and spare cigarettes. Tim Hortons franchises are packed with political bookies offering huge odds on Jack Layton. Oil-hungry representatives and death-lobbyists from other parts of the world are getting away with murder in the capitol while obscure backbenchers search for their parking passes. The RCMP is letting anybody into parliament who agrees to adjust their pay to 2011 levels. Michael Ignatieff looked considerably smug earlier this week, but I saw him a few minutes ago with a pained expression on his face, as if his earlier enthusiasm was but an act.
Meanwhile, Harper made the most intelligent comment of the month when he alluded to the fact that 'most Canadians do not want an election'. Sure, a small portion of politically literate Canadians balked at the idea that he had the gall to speak for them, but the rest of us are not very impressed by this year's lineup. Also he was right. We preferred complaining about the Conservatives and the fact that we were the first country on earth to have a robot as our leader.
In terms of betting it is far too early to make an half-decent wager. The smart money has not been placed yet, but by mid-April we will wish we had done this last year, and sullenly bet on Blue, again, out of sheer spite.
But I'm going to dial it back a little and give everyone some breathing space whilst I write speciously about the political situation in Ottawa, Canada. With so much trouble in the world, it's only right that I do what the US MEDIA does relentlessly and contextualize it in the candy-coloured terms of geopolitics.
The effortless government of Stephen Harper finally rolled into the rough last week; parliament was dissolved, and the thing Canadians feared most (an election) finally rose out of the slightly toxic, slightly oily, slightly radioactive water of Canadian politics. What kicked it all off was a budget bill nobody agreed with, which led to slightly bemused finance minister who took it not at all personally saying that only time would tell.
If you ask any Canadian on the street, especially if they're unmarried and under the age of 30, they'll tell you they know nothing about the situation at all. Who could blame those fools for not caring about how their country is managed? Sorry, anybody who's lived under a repressive regime: things are so good in Canada that we can afford the fatal luxury of political apathy. Under these conditions it's pretty easy to see how professional politicians could shake up an election season out of nowhere: with strife and struggle raging all over the world, they just wanted a piece of the action.
I've seen ministers out on the streets begging for lights and spare cigarettes. Tim Hortons franchises are packed with political bookies offering huge odds on Jack Layton. Oil-hungry representatives and death-lobbyists from other parts of the world are getting away with murder in the capitol while obscure backbenchers search for their parking passes. The RCMP is letting anybody into parliament who agrees to adjust their pay to 2011 levels. Michael Ignatieff looked considerably smug earlier this week, but I saw him a few minutes ago with a pained expression on his face, as if his earlier enthusiasm was but an act.
Meanwhile, Harper made the most intelligent comment of the month when he alluded to the fact that 'most Canadians do not want an election'. Sure, a small portion of politically literate Canadians balked at the idea that he had the gall to speak for them, but the rest of us are not very impressed by this year's lineup. Also he was right. We preferred complaining about the Conservatives and the fact that we were the first country on earth to have a robot as our leader.
In terms of betting it is far too early to make an half-decent wager. The smart money has not been placed yet, but by mid-April we will wish we had done this last year, and sullenly bet on Blue, again, out of sheer spite.
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