—“DESPERATE TIMES FOR TV NETWORKS”–
Jace Lacob has an excellent article at the Daily Beast about the demise of scripted television, especially the serialized drama. Most telling is when he reminds us that up to 30 million people once watched “E.R.” Today’s biggest hit is “NCIS,” which reaches about 19 million viewers, whereas “House” and “Desperate Housewives” can’t reach ten million and “Mad Men” barely cracks 2 million.
The blame goes to where it always goes. Event reality shows like “American Idol,” Netflix, the Internet, the DVR… You also have cable networks eating into the broadcast network’s decades-long exclusive hold on audiences. MTV’s “Jersey Shore” recently pulled in nearly 9 million viewers and so did TNT’s “Rizzoli and Isles.” All of these reasons make sense, but you also have to look at the cultural aspects.
Now that people have almost unlimited choices at the click of a remote, they are turning towards programming, like “NCIS,” that’s more in line with their values. “American Idol” appeals to the conservative heartland for all kinds of reasons and (as I’ve mentioned before) networks like Discovery, The Learning Channel and History offer reality programming that stars masculine men, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and a host of people more like us — as opposed to toned Manhattan/Los Angeles-types on narcissistic quests to find themselves and loveless sex.
Furthermore, thanks to streaming, you no longer need to sit through “what’s on.” You no longer need to face a barrage of politically correct sex jokes on “Must-see TV!” You can program an evening with Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith, and “Mission: Impossible.”
An amazing technological transformation is happening to the entertainment business today, and it’s mostly a good thing. And this cultural reality created as a result is something the Left just doesn’t want to consider as they analyze these numbers.
–DISH NETWORK LOST 135,000 SUBSCRIBERS IN SECOND QUARTER–
We got angry at DirectTV last year over a price increase, jumped to Dish and have lived to regret it. The remote control sucks, especially the hyper-complicated DVR.
Honestly, if Fox News ever makes its way online, is ever available on some sort of streaming ala carte service, I’m done with cable altogether. I’m tired of paying for channels I never watch in these over-priced packages; tired of being forced to pay $60 a month for 50 channels when all we watch is four or five.
Right now the ONLY reason we have any kind of cable/satellite service is the access to Fox, and I’m thinking that pretty soon even that won’t be enough.
Eventually, most everything will stream or hit DVD. $16.99 to Netflix to watch what I want when I want, makes a whole lot more sense than paying hard-earned money to a bunch of loser channels.
Am I alone on this one?
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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING
Cube (1997) — A nifty little one-location sci-fi flick that plays like a classic “Twilight Zone” episode. A group of well-defined characters wakes up in a perfectly square cube about the size of a freight elevator with no clue as to why or how they got there. Very quickly they discover that one cube leads to another cube which leads to another cube which leads to… and on and on, possibly into infinity. Some of the cubes are booby-trapped, some are not, and in a race against time as dehydration looms, they have to work together to find their way out of what they discover is a human maze.
What makes the story work so well is an inventive plot that keeps the story turns coming. You also have a group of people under intense pressure and as time passes and the cube starts picking them off one-by-one, the tension becomes unbearable.
Original, enthralling, and a perfectly paced 90-minutes. I’ve read that the film was produced for only a few hundred thousand dollars, which proves that nothing — no amount of money — beats a good story.
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TODAY’S QUICK HITS
ANNE HATHAWAY IS FEARLESS ABOUT AGING. WHAT A RELIEF.
“DIRTY DANCING” REMAKE ANNOUNCED
HARRY POTTER FINALE 3RD HIGHEST-GROSSING FILM OF ALL TIME
“RIO” SETS SALES RECORD ON DVD AND BLU-RAY
“KNOCKED UP” SPIN-OFF COMING SOON
27 HITCHCOCK CAMEOS IN 4 MINUTES
MADONNA-LITE BORES US ALL AGAIN
‘STAND BY ME’ RELEASED — READY FOR THIS? — 25 YEARS AGO TODAY
FIVE SHOWS TO AVOID WHILE EATING
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CLASSIC PICK FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2011
TCM:
12:00 PM EST: Children’s Hour, The (1961) — A malicious student tries to destroy the teachers at a girls’ school. Dir: William Wyler Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner. BW-108 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
Probably the best film ever produced about the destructive power of a lie. The climax is especially poignant thanks to William Wyler’s outstanding direction and MacLaine’s heartbreaking performance. Just as good is James Garner who’s perfectly cast in a way that makes his character’s final moments all the more potent.
A remake of this near-classic would likely be an unmitigated disaster. In 1961, Hollywood was still censoring themselves and while we all oppose censorship, I will always argue that Hollywood’s self-imposed restrictions during their Golden Age had a lot to do with why there was a Golden Age — and this near-classic is a perfect example. Homosexuality is a story-thread that runs throughout and the subtle maturity used to explore this and the prejudice of homophobia brings the message home in a way that a more explicit or “sophisticated” update ever could. The very thought of present-day Hollywood stridently telling this story makes me shudder.
The film is based on a stage play written by Lillian Hellman in 1934 and a remake of Wyler’s own 1936 “These Three” — which stripped the story of its lesbian theme. Hellman based the play (her first hit) on a true story and it was the first to touch on the subject of homosexuality ever staged on Broadway. It was revived in London earlier this year with Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Ross in the leads — and we should all take a moment to pray this doesn’t lead to a film adaptation.
–Please send tips/suggestions/requests to jnolte@breitbart.com
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