MagneticMediaFed

Last week was the lowest rated week for television in recorded history. The four main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS & FOX) totalled just over 20 million viewers for the entire week.

Maybe its because of the July 4th Holiday, or that all the cool new shows are on cable, or maybe– just maybe– because IT’S THE MIDDLE OF THE GOD DAMNED SUMMER! Go outside people, I’ll do the heavy lifting for you.

First of all, I do read books. I’ve read many books. Some, in fact, aren’t even about television. Last week I finally got around to reading Bill Carter’s The Late Shift. Why I hadn’t read this book is a mystery to me as “Late Night” shows are one of my favorite kinds of programming– they’re, in a way, the last remaining installations of television’s golden era.

The Late Shift is a really good read, but its especially interesting a dozen years after the fact. Knowing the after-effects of this late-night-battle makes for a delightful bit of history-via-Miss Cleo. Also interesting was finishing up Carter’s book right around the same time I heard this fascinating follow-up to a recurring story on WNYC’s “On the Media” detailing what Bob Garfield refers to as his “Television Chaos Theory.” These seemingly unrelated areas, “Absolte Chaos” and “Late Night,” might not be all that far apart. Their inevitable collision could equate to CERTAIN DISASTER (a gorey tragedy for those who take television history a least half seriously, though great fodder for television and technology bloggers). Keep reading after the jump…

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A full-page print ad for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart appearing in the June 5 edition of Hollywood Reporter reads:

“We had fake news years before CBS hired Katie Couric.”

Via Cynopsis (thanks Greg)

TV Guide is reporting that Shawn Ryan has given the go-ahead for another season of The Shield.  This is in addition to the 10 episodes that will start airing either late this year or early next (apparently they’re calling them the back-half of season 5, which is fine except no other season has produced more than 16 episodes in its run).  Either way we can expect another 13 or so come in late 2007 or 2008.  Wait, 2008?  Won’t our TV appetite consist almost exclusively of YouTube’d videos of singing Korean girls by that time?

• FX is going to begin production of a new series this fall (slated to air early 2007) called Dirt. It’s produced by and stars Courtney Cox Arquette as the editor of a tabloid newspaper.
• Deadwood will end its propper run after the upcoming season 3, but appears to be coming back in the form of a feature-length movie. Huzzah!

Info via Cynopsis

Television related goodness.

• TV God, Tom Shales retires from The Washington Post. Crap television-producers give off a sigh of relief.
• The Television Critics Association announced its nominees for 2006. Fourth-place NBC got the most nominations with 10 (six of which were split between “My Name Is Earl” and “The Office.” Comedies? Sweet! Washington Post columnist Lisa de Moraes puts it best:
  

  Though critics write volumes about the end of comedy on television, they seem to be pretty optimistic about the genre: Three of the five nominees for best new program are comedies — or five, if, like some of my friends, you think “Big Love” and Fox’s “Prison Break” are hilarious.
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• Does anyone watch Current? Obviously some people do. For me, it has always been a channel that I see in the guide and think about going to, but never do. Maybe I’m too old-school to watch television that isn’t comprised of actual shows.
• Tom Green has a new television show. Only this one isn’t on television. I checked out some of some of his postings, not horrible. It’s Tom Green, you know what you’re going to get, though I might add that the web is probably his perfect venue. I will add that his second MTV show The New Tom Green Show was actually kind of good. It was seasoned with the faint taste of early Late Night– of course, no talk show is ever going to succeed on MTV (unless it stars Kristin Cavallari and is less a talk show and more Laguna Beach. Speaking of, I’m watching The Hills, expect a post Wednesdayish.

There has been a significant trend this season in the complete absence of comedies from the Nielson top 10 (and only an occasional representative in the extended top twent, usually Two and a Half Men). This can be traced two a few things. Obviously the number of comedies is way down compared to what was on the networks ten years ago. Also, I feel the television comedy is in a period of change, and yet the audience seems to be slow to adapt. If you aren’t one to obsess over comedy (or television) you could easily find yourself flipping around the dial (who uses a dial?) trying to decide between watching something that looks and feels completely different from what you’re used to (like Arrested Development or The Office) or watching something that is entirely familiar, but unfunny. Keep reading by clicking below…

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(It’s actually around 1pm edt, but whatever).

Here are some haps around the telesphere (my term).

• McFarlane toys is going to be releasing a series of Lost characters (Jack, Kate, Hurley, Charlie and Shannon to be exact). Finally I’ll have something to play with on my 1:8 scale replica of the island.
• And while we’re on the island, looks like Bad Twin has made it onto the NYTimes best-seller list. I have to admit, I kinda want to read it… THANK GOD I’m a television fan and don’t know how to read.
• NBC has thrown out the original gameplan and totally reorganized its fall lineup. I wonder if that’s because…
• The 2006 ratings are in!  CBS/FOX split the important categories, NBC grasping for life-raft.
• Buzz Machine breaks down a recent lawsuit in which all of the major networks (and a few movie studios) are suing Cablevision over their plan to offer “DVR-like” services to customers without the use of a set-top-box. His argument is based on previous statements that the network is obsolete. Don’t tell Les Moonves.
• And finally, this is a good site.

And better yet, it includes what shows I will be watching and what shows I’ll be trying out before I make up my mind. WHAT A DEAL! All this information and more by clicking the link below…

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Last but not least, in the “what’s new this fall” category comes from the new UPN/WB merger, “The CW.”  Also, I may begin referring to this channel as C-Dubs, so please don’t be caught off guard.

There are only two new series planned so far for C-Dubs, which isn’t much of a surprise as the biggest part of this experiment is what kind of ratings the network’s existing shows can bring in without the unneeded competition from  another network going after the exact same audience.  So a lot of what you’ll see on this network will be familiar faces (or at least recognizable) from years past.  Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Hates Chris, Smallville– all made the cut.  But more on those later.  Let’s check out the new shows after the jump…

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Yay, more upfronts!  Does the fun ever start?!  FOX this season seems to be playing with a familiar gameplan. The will air a handful of popular shows through out the fall and just coast until American Idol comes back in January, where they will then rule the ratings.  Throw into the mix five or so new dramas and a couple comedies that will surely be jerked around for months before being yanked off the air and there you have it.  Follow the bouncing link for the new series…

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Number one, baby!  Number one!!  No body messes with the boss, you hear me?  No one.  Not even CBS development vice presidents, apparently.  The network unveiled its fall lineup this morning (Wha-whaaa?!) and upon first glance, it looks awfully close to their current line-up.  This is the case because whatever it is the network is doing right now (CSI-Survivor-Two-and-a-Half-Men), it’s working so well they don’t feel the need to alter it in the slightest.  Though there will be a few add-ons.  Perhaps you’d like to click below to hear about these titles…

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First of all, what the hell is “MyNetwork” suppose to be?  The short answer is it’s the new UPN.  The long answer is that since The WB and UPN merged, half of those existing stations in America will be without an affiliate.  MyNetwork is essentially a start-up network that will be in place on all of the former UPN channels that are owned by FOX.  Like The CW, they’ll be launching in the fall.  Unlike The CW, their programming is going to be very telenovela heavy, which means it’s going to be featuring a few prime-time soaps that run five nights a week for limited runs.  Click below to see what they’re about…

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