Perhaps I shouldn’t have commented so harshly on Pushing Daisies, but it was supposed to be better. I keep hearing how “smart” it is and about the great art direction. It did not come off as smart to me at all, and the art direction was unoriginal, and uninspired. It seemed like it was trying to be something it’s not; trying to gain credibility just by paying attention to scenery at all in a sea of shows that don’t. It reminded me of all those faux-independent films that came out a few years ago - the ones funded by studios, starring major actors, but made to look indie, remember? Manufactured, assembly-line originality.
I really feel like An Arky does about most tv. That’s not to say I don’t watch. I watch Desperate Houswives with my wife because she likes it and it’s something for us to enjoy together. It’s not what I would call great, but it’s not trying to be. And just in case anyone thinks I’m being less than fully honest about my viewing habits, heh, I think reality tv has evolved to the point that some of those shows are worth watching. There’s one for almost anyone’s special interest now, and if not, they’re an interesting gauge of Just What the Hell’s Going on in Pop Culture. Pushing Daises just had this transparent veil of superiority that really turned me off right away.
But I’m an asshole and I really prefer documentaries and independent films to anything else, so I guess it wasn’t fair to single out Pushing Daisies under the pretense of someone who likes tv.
(See, Justin_Bailey, just when you think you know someone . . . :))
I don’t see Tim Burton, maybe as a minor influence but no more so than any of the things that Burton happned to be influenced by. But you are picking up on Dead Like Me because Bryan Fuller is the creator of both shows.
Not that I am trying to argue you into liking the show, if you don’t like it then so be it, but I figure you should know.
Why’s that? Your reason for disliking it is basically my reason for disliking it. Although I watch a lot of TV (of which I am not ashamed!).
I thought the quirkiness of Pushing Daisies felt really forced (although I hated the initial previews for the show, so maybe I went in thinking I would hate it) and I despise forced quirkiness. Wonderfalls was so fantastic because it felt naturally quirky.
Thank you for the answers (Those above too.)
I actually agree with the Tim Burton and Dead Like Me comparisons but to me it is not derivative as much as just similar in look to Burton. The *Dead Like Me *similarity is obvious as *Pushing Daisies *in an early concept was to have been a spin-off of *Dead Like Me *and by some reports is in the same odd universe as his other two shows.
The quirkiness works for me but then I already acknowledge that the show does not have a large mainstream audience unfortunately.
To each their own. Like others I have know use for the uncreative slew of ‘Reality’ Shows. I’ve watch a few and I’ll stick to Baseball and Football for ‘Reality’ shows.
Like I said above, a lot of them have gone to special interests now, which I think is smart. We like Top Chef because my wife is a chef, and we like The Ultimate Fighter because MMA is our favorite sport. We used to like The Biggest Loser because we’re into diet and exercise and it was fun and heart-warming to watch those people work their asses off and earn their amazing new bodies at the end of the season, but I’m going to start a thread around here one of these days about why I’m giving up on that show. We also occasionally tune in to those VH1 reality shows, because the detachment those people have from reality can be truly entertaining sometimes. Plus, it’s funnier when they make fun of them on The Soup if you know who they are :).
If Life on Mars is canceled, I’m not going to be surprised–because I love that show more than anything else on television right now. And anything I love will be axed, while CS-motherfucking-I franchise will continue plugging away, Law and Order will live on in perpetuity, and House will continue to solve stupid medical cases at the last minute after we waste 43 minutes watching him get it wrong.
But I’m happy to see at least that it’s “on the bubble” and not “dead after ten episodes.”
About to die
Pushing Daisies (ABC) - I love it but I’m hardly surprised.
Eli Stone (ABC) - ironically enough (if you know me) my favorite show. I’m disappointed about this.
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC) - Pretty good first season, but this season has been terrible. I still watch it though.
Probably gonna die in May
Old Christine (CBS) - this might be my third favorite sitcom on tv
Life (NBC) - Again, not surprised but I do love it.
Numb3rs (CBS – shitty timeslot, may survive?) - I enjoy this show but it’s had a good run, I’ll survivve.
On the bubble, by the ratings?
Ugly Betty (ABC) - I thought this was popular. I REALLY hope it holds on.
Chuck (NBC) - this is probably a top 3 favorite show of mine. I really want it to hold on.
This is virtually everything I watch save a few HBO shows, a showtime show or two, and like two on regular TV. It’ll really free up my week. I suppose that’s good.
Yeah, I heard that “My Own worst Enemy” was being cancelled, due to low audience figures of about 4.3 million people . And it goes bfffft without a chance to turn the buzz around. I will really wish that show and “Life” would be given more of a chance to find their audiences.
I watched the entire first season of Pushing Daisies, but watching it gradually started to feel more and more like work.
This season I hung on for a couple episodes, but by the third I finally realized why it was such a chore to watch: It’s just so damn gay. Not gay as in lame, but gay as in something that feels targeted toward a feminine sensibility. Plus the colors and sets in general looked like something out of a gay pride parade.
All the "squee"ing going on in the weekly threads sure didn’t help my interest.
The networks are only now beginning to understand that giving a show six or even three weeks is NOT long enough to find its eventual market, and that market is all they can hope for in that time slot. How long did it take MASH* to catch on? But once it did it hasn’t been off the air since it was finally, mercifully, canceled.
I try to hope the networks have finally realized the market has changed and that a couple million viewers less by the old way of counting is as good as they can expect these days.
Retention. They may stick around home, catch Dollhouse, then go out (especially a younger demographic trying to “stick it to Fox” so they don’t screw His Holiness The Joss again). It’s also hard to keep the same demo around for a three hour block. Being on the tail end of the death slot is hard enough as it is… Add a potential powerhouse to the lineup and it can spell total disaster. This said, Numb3rs spills into the older demos quite a lot – the same group that makes up the NCIS fan base (and amuses me greatly – a show that is consistently ranked #6-8 globally but #25 in the 18-40 demos… hee!)
Anyway. As for the list chopping out so many shows: it does. Scripted shows. What survives? Idiotic reality shows, my friends. Lots and lots of those. All the Dancing with the Stars, the American Idols and their “result shows” the following night? They take up air-time. Sports eat up prime time more and more and they sell, too. CSI has spinoffs and carbon copies on various networks and they’re all mostly doing okay – this year’s Mentalist and Eleventh Hour are sailing. Old standard NCIS is bringing in the noise AND the funk and kicking House in the nads, numbers-wise. Fringe is doing well for Fox. Bones is holding onto its base. It’s a procedural’s world, out there.
Cable is doing well with its homegrown stuff (check out USA’s lineup). Broadcast is trying out some new stuff in January, some of which I don’t expect to see live beyond a couple-of-episodes-after-the-pilot, but some stuff may have potential. Fox is fucking over Whedon, but then, we expected that since American Idol is coming back and lord knows bending over and taking it up the ass for the Golden Child is what matters…
For writers and creative staff, it’s MORE than frustrating: it all comes down to ratings… and not just that. It comes down to what sells AND what sells elsewhere, too. Network execs often want you to go out and copy what others are doing. And if you’re not doing that, they’re fickle bastards who are just as likely to tell you they love you one day and then sack your entire writing staff the next so the show can “go in another direction.”
They buy a series saying they like the concept and the pilot, then have the showrunner rewrite the whole thing and take it in a totally different direction because THEY feel that’s what the market will support (and hey, that’s what “those guys at FOX are doing!”) and if you don’t do it, they’ll find someone else who will.
I know you’re in the business and all (although you’re not the first person I’ve seen who spouts off about how most TV programming is “reality show crap”), but this is just wrong.
I just looked at the broadcast schedule for the next week and it breaks down like this:
While reality shows are popular (coming in at #2 and all), hour long dramas outnumber all other types of programming combined. Pretending (or worse, whining) about how all there is on TV is reality shows is absurd.
What a depressing thread. I skimmed it though and it appears Eureka and The Middleman weren’t mentioned. I hope that bodes well.
I enjoy Prison Break but could live with its demise, hopefully with some sort of resolution.
I like Pushing Daisies, but was surprised it lived this long. It’s kinda like the live action version of The Tick. Smart, funny, but too, too… I dunno just too, for our growing Idiocracy-style “Ow, My Balls!” viewing audience.
Losing Chuck will make me sad, as would Eli Stone.
I’ll also miss T:TSCC.
Damn, looks like I’m going to lose most of what I watch.
Oh, and I confess to watching Knight Rider. It’s cheesy bubble-gum check your brain at the door fun. I like watching KITT become more “human.” “KITT, when did you start using contractions?” “I didn’t know I was.”
