# "Grease-You're the One That I Want" (bit of a rant) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961 "2007-01-06T20:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/21 "2007-01-06T22:06:01Z")
The only one’s of those I can even figure out are Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/22 "2007-01-06T22:08:07Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Look, Broadway is struggling. [/QUOTE] Hardly. From [BroadwayWorld.com](http://BroadwayWorld.com): > [@Broadwayworld.com News](#): > > The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. has reported that the week ending 12/31/2006 brought in the highest gross of any week in recorded Broadway history at $29.1 million, and the highest attendance at 314,310. Paid attendance is up 11 percent from the same week last season. This is also the first time attendance numbers have reached over three hundred thousand during the winter months. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/23 "2007-01-06T22:25:20Z")
I’m betting that this is one of the reality shows that doesn’t quite make it. Even in midseason, even in January, this show has no appeal. Their best shot at a demographic is going to be watching Desperate Housewives instead. They’ve tied it to the hideously awful Apprentice LA (which looks more and more like the Apprentice parody). Unlike “Idol” these people aren’t ever going to entertain _me_. (I don’t watch Idol - but from what I understand, they get record contracts that play on radio stations I can get, do movies that I can see at my local cinema, and then go on tour in my neighborhood. These people are competing for a chance to play in NY. I’m not going to NY. Even when the touring show comes through - the NY stars aren’t going to be the ones on tour.) What does the average American viewer care who stars in a show that they’re never going to see. I predict it lasting 3 episodes at most. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/24 "2007-01-06T22:33:46Z")
If you want to see a better-performed, more-enthusiastic production of _Grease_ than this, there is certainly some junior high school within 20 miles whose Drama Club is doing it this spring. Yes, you’re taking this more seriously than the original Bway production did. It’s a song and dance show, that’s all. Get up off your seat and dance along with everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/25 "2007-01-06T22:59:32Z")
I hope my last post didn’t come across as rude, I wrote it on my way out the door but reading back it seems kinda snippy. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/26 "2007-01-06T23:18:37Z")
The thing I think is interesting is that NBC is no longer using the stylized car-logo from the movie in their advertising. Did they forget to ask Paramount permission? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/27 "2007-01-06T23:19:38Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] Oops, sorry, I meant MNIE, or course, not MNIS. Didn’t mean to confuse anyone. [/QUOTE] I love _My Name Is Scheinbaum_ too! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/28 "2007-01-06T23:26:22Z")
Just like every reality show known to man, this one is stolen from a foreign country: _You’re The One That I Want_ is a BBC production, inspired by the United Kingdom’s _How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?_ ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/29 "2007-01-06T23:43:00Z")
Further to **mobo85** ’s comment, the winning contestant, [Connie Fisher](http://www.bbc.co.uk/maria/maria/news/2006/12/13/38931.shtml), now playing Maria, has received excellent notices, and the stage show is immensely popular. Alas, therefore, I have to demur on the “I do not consider myself a snob in any way” comment, in the context of your thinking that Broadway is anything other than a bunch of theaters trying to drum up business, and stealing a canny way of doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/30 "2007-01-06T23:48:31Z")
[QUOTE=jacquilynne] The only one’s of those I can even figure out are Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. [/QUOTE] One out of two: _Desperate Housewives_ and reruns of _Green Acres_. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/31 "2007-01-07T00:01:14Z")
Well, as long as it’s not on opposite DH, MNIS or UB. Or the reruns of GA they’ve been showing, just before TDSWJS. Desperate Housewives, My Name is Simon (Earl), Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy (or Green Acres)… But I’m stuck on the last one. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/32 "2007-01-07T00:10:47Z")
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/33 "2007-01-07T00:15:26Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] stealing a canny way of doing it. [/QUOTE] I intended the word “stealing” to be ironic- since both shows are produced by the BBC, it’s not so much theft as it is import. At least it gives whichever songwriter’s still alive a source of income that doesn’t involve suing cruise lines. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/34 "2007-01-07T00:43:47Z")
[QUOTE=Eyebrows 0f Doom] Hardly. From [BroadwayWorld.com](http://BroadwayWorld.com), etc. [/QUOTE] Well, color me stupid. I was under the impression that Broadway was struggling. In fact, I remember a few years back there was talk of replacing some of the musicians with recorded music in order to save $$. [Gilda Radner]Never mind.[/Gilda Radner] ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/35 "2007-01-07T01:01:30Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] In fact, I remember a few years back there was talk of replacing some of the musicians with recorded music in order to save $$. [/QUOTE] That actually happened…but that was because the AFM union wanted more money, not as a cost-cutting maneuver. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/36 "2007-01-07T03:09:54Z")
We’re talking about a play, even if it’s a Broadway show. What exactly are the professional qualifications here? It’s not like somebody’s going to die on the table if we pick the wrong actor for the part. I figure that competing in and winning a reality show is at least as good a method for picking an actor as the traditional method of screwing the casting director. Although on further thought, a reality show about a group of attarctive contestants offering sexual favors to a casting director for a role in a play has some commercial possibilities - _Sleeping Your Way To The Top!_ - we’ll have to do it on cable though. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/37 "2007-01-07T03:20:31Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Although on further thought, a reality show about a group of attarctive contestants offering sexual favors to a casting director for a role in a play has some commercial possibilities - _Sleeping Your Way To The Top!_ - we’ll have to do it on cable though. [/QUOTE] Combine that concept with the one about the women who THINK the guy is a millionaire, when he is in fact a construction worker. So the women are trying to “work out a deal” with who they think is a casting director, and find out that he’s like, an apprentice light technician. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/38 "2007-01-07T03:20:33Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] That actually happened…but that was because the AFM union wanted more money, not as a cost-cutting maneuver. [/QUOTE] Just to clarify, the _talk_ actually happened. The musicians union struck and there was talk about using pre-recorded tracks. Had me in a sweat because I had a trip planned for NYC to see a couple of Broadway shows just as the strike was getting underway. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/39 "2007-01-07T03:44:22Z")
Now I’ve got that song stuck in my head. A few more minutes of my John Travolta imitation, and my husband will be finding the OP for revenge. I’ll probably watch the first episode, too. So now everyone can hate me. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961/40 "2007-01-07T15:19:12Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I’ll probably watch the first episode, too. So now everyone can hate me. [/QUOTE] I have it DVR’d. I’m waiting to see if Sex shows up for the audition. “Sex” was a contestant “So You Think You Can Dance.” who really thought he could. He couldn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grease-youre-the-one-that-i-want-bit-of-a-rant/386961.md?page=3)