The Ratings Conundrum

Stop Canceling Good TV Shows!
Ratings only tell part of the story

So i was trying to decide what i should write on my blog - I'm slowly realizing that the time it takes to watch an entire season of ANYTHING with my schedule means that there will be less than 15 blog entries a month, if that's all that i write about.   I have plenty of TV shows that I haven't watched, but it takes me a good week or two to watch an entire season.

I'm currently watching Ugly Betty, Season 4.  This show caught my attention almost by accident.  It's based on a Colombian telenovela,  Yo Soy Betty, La Fea (I am Betty, the Ugly - go HS Spanish!!).  This show was so funny and interesting the first three seasons, but in the third season there was a dramatic drop in viewership.  This led to ABC moving it around to Fridays (which is the one of the WORST days for network television) and after fan backlash, was again moved to Wednesdays at 10 pm.

Now I wasn't watching this show on TV, I had been following it on DVD, but i knew that it had been moved to Wednesdays at 10 pm.  The reason I knew this was that one of my favorite TV shows of last television season, Eastwick, was canceled after just 13 episodes (I think only 12 aired) and Ugly Betty took its time slot.

While i loved Eastwick, and i especially loved the three characters playing Joanna, Kat and Roxanne (Gotta love Rebecca Romijn - I mean she was both married to Uncle Jessie from Full House AND played Mystique in X-men and X2 in practically nothing but blue body paint), I always hated the time slot.  I personally hate watching television at 10 pm on any night of the week.  I have to be up around 7ish in the morning for work, and that means if i fall asleep at 11, that gives me a solid 8 hours of sleep.  More often than not, I would fall asleep watching Eastwick.

I know i wasn't the target audience for this show (it was probably women in their 20-30s) but I enjoyed it.  It was reminiscent of Charmed, and certainly could have gone places if given a fair shot.  Putting any show at 10 pm on a night when people have to work is really asking an awful lot of them.  I know people have DVR and Tivo, but not everyone does, and I think if a show like this was put in an earlier time slot, it would have done much better.

Does anyone think that the networks aren't even giving television shows a chance to find their audience anymore?  It used to be that shows that had potential were shifted around and/or retooled and given another season before the network called it quits, but it seems these days if a show doesn't capture huge ratings to begin with, it is canceled. 

For example, in addition to Eastwick, ABC also canceled FlashForward, another show I liked (a bit convoluted, but far better than V, a much better cast and with similar ratings).   Other great shows that were cancelled due to low ratings were Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (great show) and Heroes (an all time favorite show of mine).

The networks need to find different ways of capturing revenue.  The television landscape is not what it used to be.  It is reported (here, by associated content.com and here by the New York post ) that TV viewership is down.  This makes sense - I watch live television probably once a week, and yet I have between 3-5 shows being recorded on my DVR weekly.  I then fast forward through the commercials.  The one show i watch live, TrueBlood, has had no commercials this season since the first episode.  There's also watching television online, thought both official and unofficial website.  Each network has their own website with streaming television episodes that can be watched anytime.  In addition there are things like Youtube and Hulu.

The largrst drop though, has got to be due to DVD sales.  When television shows were not released on home video format in entire seasons, the shows were watched much more readily.  It was an event, because it was on once and once only (not including repeats and syndication) and then it was on to the next episode.  With DVD and Bluray TV Shows you can watch it all at once, without having to wait until the next episode is on.  I can tell you that i might only watch 3-5 shows a week (mostly to support them, I'd prefer to wait for the DVD) but i watch WAYYY more than that every season on DVD.

The shows I'm currently following on DVD are Chuck, Supernatural, Smallville, Psych, V, Vampire Diaries, Dexter, Fringe, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory..The only shows I'm planning on watching live next TV season are new shows No Ordinary Family, The Cape, returning shows Weeds, and possibly Smallville because it's the last season.  I'm not sure about the Event, it seems fairly mysterious, but perhaps too much so.


The point is, I watch way more DVD TV then live TV, and if the networks found a way to make more money off of DVD's, they wouldn't need to make as much off the live shows, the ratings wouldn't be the only factor keeping a show on the air, and good shows wouldn't get canceled so quickly.  Obviously raising the prices of the DVDs isn't the solution, it all comes down to advertising!  The networks need to find better, "new media" methods of advertising such as product placement. 


So that's my rant for the week...STOP CANCELING GOOD TV SHOWS!!


Night

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Movie Review

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
Released: August 13th, 2010

Just recently I went to the movie theater to see Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. I have not enjoyed myself so much watching a movie in a very long time. This is definitely the funnest movie of the year. It is like a perfect hybrid between a geek chic romantic comedy and a video game from the eighties, complete with life bars, 1-ups, points and coins.

The plot is simple, if a bit unbelievable. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), falls for her, and soon discovers that in order to date her, he must defeat her seven evil exes. These exes all seem to have unique super powers (as does Scott Pilgrim at times).

The soundtrack is rocking, so much so that the movie could probably be classified as a musical, between the various sound effects borrowed from the various video games (and tv shows) and the songs of Scott Pilgrims band, Sex-Bob-Omb. Some of the funniest scenes are funny because of the sound effects used.

Though I am not usually impressed by Michael Cera's limited acting ability, his detached, soft-spoken geek works here, better than in some of his other movies. He displays some range in this movie, more so then his previous endeavors (excepting Youth in Revolt).

The individual battles (there are seven) are all very different in style and format, and they're all entertaining and exciting. Both Chris Evans and Brandon Routh are scene-stealers as Lucas Lee (Evil Ex 2) and Todd Ingram (Evil Ex 3).

If I had any complaints at all about the film it would be that the scenes in the first half of the movie, before the battles begin, seem to jump from one to another, without a logical transition. This is the style Edgar Wright, the director is going for, but I'm not sure I like it. It felt like the movie was cut for someone with major ADD (and maybe it was).

Overall, that is a minor complaint, and this is not the kind of movie you see looking for plot depth and reality. It was a funny (at times hilarious) movie that was a lot of fun to watch. It was so much fun to watch that at the end, the audience started clapping.

5 stars out of 5

Embrace the Deception Psych Seasons 2 + 3 Review

Psych Seasons 2+3 Review
USA Network

In between the lines there's a lot of obscurity
I'm not inclined to resign to maturity
If it's all right, then you're all wrong
Why bounce around to the same damn song
You'd rather run when you can't crawl


I know, you know, that I'm not telling the truth
I know, you know, they just don't have any proof
Embrace the deception, Learn how to bend
You're worst inhibitions tend to psych you out in the end





Psych just gets funnier and funnier as you continue to watch it. Fake psychic detective Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his partner Burton Guster (Dule Hill) continue to solve crimes, often with the assistance of Det. Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara of the Santa Barbara Police department.


Season 2

In season 2, we get to know Gus better, including meeting his family. We meet his mother, Winnie Guster (Phylicia Rashad) and father Bill (Ernie Hudson) in the Christmas episode - “Gus' Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy” and his Uncle Bernie in an episode titled “Meat Is Murder, But Murder Is Also Murder”. We also meet Gus'...wife? Mira

In this season Shawn and Gus meet a rival psychic, have to find chief Vick a nanny, have to exonerate Gus parents for murder, Shawn joins the case of a telenovela, Gus becomes a model, and a mummy is suspected in a murder.

Guest starts include Tim Curry (in a hilarious episode titled America Duos making fun of American Dreamz and American Idol), Lou Diamond Phillips, John Amos, Kevin Sorbo (from Hercules), Kerry Washington, Saul Rubenik (from Warehouse 13), Bianca Kajlich, and Cristián de la Fuente.

This season builds upon the relationships in the first season, especially the relationship between Shawn and his father, and introduce Gus' family. At the end of season 2 there is a shocking cliffhanger, as Shawn's mother returns.

The show never skips a beat, sometimes funny, often hilarious, and always exciting to watch as Shawn and Gus stumble towards the answers in true Psych fashion.


Season 3

In season 3, we learn more about Gus and Shawn's past, even going to their High School reunion. We also see Gus' day job as a pharmaceutical salesman.

We meet Shawn's Uncle Jack (Steven Weber), his old flame Abigail, and have to revisit the biggest case of Henry (Shawn's dad's) police career. We also meet Chief Vick's sister Commander Barbara Dunlap 0f the Coast Guard (Jane Lynch). We spend Christmas with the Gusters including Gus' sister Joy (Faune A.Chmbers), Minnie (Phylicia Rashad) and Bill Guster ( Keith David).

In this season Shawn and Gus relive the 70s, solve a murder without a body, go treasure hunting, attend a sea lion funeral, join the fire department, join a pro football team, have to solve a “Friday the 13th type murder at a camp, Juliet O'Hara joins a roller derby team, Gus is taken hostage at a bank robbery, Lassiter is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and they all get involved in a plot by serial killer Mr. Yang.

Gus' mother(Cybill Shepard) stirs things up when she has to give psych evaluations of the police officers including Lassiter.

This season Shawn's old flame Abigail(Rachel Leigh Cook) returns, and we get to see Shawn team up with Officer Juliet O'Hara as partners in “Talk Derby to me”. Their relationship continues to get closer and closer throughout the season, which helps as their on screen chemistry is electric.

This season has guest stars Rachel Leigh Cook, Cybill Shepard, Faune A. Chambers, Phylicia Rashad, Keithe David, Jane Lynch, Steven Weber, Alan Ruck, Gary Cole, Serinda Swan, Milena Govich, Bruce McGill, Mykelti Williamson,Jonathan Silverman, MacKenzie Austin, Justine Bateman, Ally Sheedy, Jimmi Simpson, Jere Burns, and Jordan Baker.

Shawn and Gus' PI agency, Psych, has a higher profile after such an extensive list of solved cases, and they end up in a lot of interesting places this season. Shawn and his dad's relationship continues to grow this season, and we finally meet his mother. We also see Juliet and Lassiter fleshed out more this season. The show is as funny as it ever has been, and this seasons guest starts are top notch, including a great turn by Jane Lynch (Glee) as chief Vick's sister.

Another great season.


Season 2
4 out of 5 stars

Season 3
5 out of 5 stars

Can't wait to watch season 4!

A Bloody Good Time - Dexter Season 1

Dexter – Season One
Showtime










I had heard of Dexter, and seen it in the store, but I never knew what it was until I bought the first season on DVD.  I got it on the cheap on eBay. 

This is an ingenious show with great writing that is on Showtime, and is currently about to start its 5th Season.  After I watched the first season, I went out and bought the next two seasons.  It stars Michael C. Hall (of Six Feet Under), this time as a serial killer with an impulse to kill who keeps his killer impulses in check by killing people who deserve it – often people who are let back on the street by the cops for one reason or another.

There is quite a bit of blood in this show, especially in the later half of the season, but if you can get past this, the show is engaging and offbeat, clever and complex, as is the character of Dexter Morgan himself, a severely damaged personality who is able to conform on the surface to societies social norms, but hidden behind this lies a deep disconnect from the world he is forcing himself to live in and be a part of.   It takes a good writer and a good plot to get the viewer to sympathize with such an emotionally dead character as Dexter Morgan.

He is deeply disturbed, seemingly beyond his control, and yet later in the season, sparks of humanity do seem to creep up on us and Dexter as well. This is especially the case when it comes to Dexter's adopted sister Debra Morgan, who is the only person he seems genuinely attached to.  It is unclear whether his attachment to Debra is real or just for show.  Dexter would have us believe it is just for show, but that comes into question later in the season.

Dexter feels he must fit in so he doesn't stand out, and having a relationship is part of this.  His girlfriend, Rita Bennett( played by Julie Benz) is a severely damaged individual, who he feels comfortable around because he does not need to get emotionally attached or be intimate with her. Things get more complicate between them midway through the season.

Debra is a cop for the Miami police department, and Dexter is a “blood spatter” specialist on the forensics team.  Most of the other supporting cast are either cops or forensic specialists.  The scenes flashback scenes with Dexter father are among the more interesting scenes in the show, if only because they help explain how he is so well able to fake emotion and get everyone at the Miami police department to like him so much, even though in reality he is their worst enemy, a serial killer operating right under their radar.  The only person who sees something in Dexter that is unsettling is Sgt. James Doakes, a member of the police force.  Later in the season, this plot line is in full force and adds some needed believability to Dexter's seemingly invincible cover as the friendly neighborhood forensics specialist. 

The first season revolves around the “Ice Truck Killer” who kills prostitutes and leaves the bodies for the police (and Dexter) to find in a specific way – I don't want to mention anymore, except to say that the final reveal at the end of the season is surprising.  Most probably won't see it coming, but it makes sense, and adds another layer to what little humanity Dexter has.

I give this show 4 out of 5 stars...because if Dexter was a real person, I'd hate him.

Kick- Ass Movie Review

Kick-Ass

Released on DVD and BluRay August 3rd, 2010

(Spoiler Free Review)

WARNING: This movie is not for children or those easily offended by violence or profanity.

I never read the graphic novel that this is based upon, but the movie itself was awesome.  I have seen most of the movies to come out of the Great Superhero Boom of the last ten years, starting with Spider-Man and X-Men, all the way through My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Superhero Movie. 

I can honestly tell you that I have never enjoyed a superhero movie as much as i enjoyed this one.  It is ultraviolent, perverse, controversial, grounded in reality, witty and intelligent. The main character Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is naive, relatable, believable and just a little pathetic as he dons the green and yellow scuba suit and attempts to fight crime as Kick-Ass.   He instantly gets in over his head, and the viewer legitimately feels bad for him.

Where the movie really shines, however, is with the introduction of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz).  As a general rule, I can not stand Nick Cage, and i dislike pretty much every movie he's ever been in.  Here though, he's a flawed, realistic parent trying to right a wrong, and stop the bad guy.  He plays a borderline unhinged father with his own idea of parental responsibility and an ongoing quest for vengeance. 

The most controversial figure in the movie is Hit Girl.  She's 11 years old.  She swears (a lot).  She gets shot at.  She slices off limbs.  and she steals each and every scene that she is in. Hit Girl is by far the most entertaining character in the movie, and Chloe Moretz plays her perfectly in every scene she is in.  This is an actress to be watched.  Hit Girl was so well received that fans have been asking for a Hit Girl movie, though a Kick-Ass 2 is probably more likely. 

I would sing the praises of this move all day, but the bottom line is, you should go see this movie.  It may not have gotten the box office reciepts of Iron Man or Spider-Man, but where those movies are sometimes formulaic and predictable, this movie is mature, exciting, different, and ...well it kicks ass.

5 stars out of 5 - Kick-Ass Kicked Ass

True Blood Hitting the Ground Review

True Blood - Hitting the Ground
Airdate: 8/1/2010

Sookie's attempt to rescue Bill has unforseen consequences. Meanwhile, Jason seeks the truth about Crystal. Sam must step in when Tommy gets involved in a dog fighting ring, all thanks to Melinda and Joe Lee's quest for money. Eric figures out how to get the information he wants from Sophie-Anne. Debbie plans to get even with Alcide while Russell ignores the Magister.


This episode, much like last, ramped up the action and plot developments. We left off at the end of the last episode with Lorena, Bill's sire, feeding on Sookie as a powerless Bill watched. After a brief feeding, Bill gets free and saves Sookie, allowing her to kill Lorena, permanently. Alcide and Tara soon showed up to help get Sookie and Bill away from Russell's mansion. Then Debbie threatens to kill Alcide, and Tara, still high on v from Franklin, tackles her.

Back in Bon Temps, Sam saves Tommy and all the other dogs from the dog fight. He offers Tommy the chance to leave his family and after some thought, Sam and Tommy leave to return to Merlotte's, finally leaving their parents behind.

Jason still searches for answers to who and what Crystal is. The meth dealer that Jason caught a few episodes ago gives Jason a few answers – he is her cousin. He looked like he was about to say that her “fiance”is actually her brother but stopped short of actually saying it. We don't learn anything else new about her, and frankly it's getting a bit annoying. We'll learn more about her soon.

Back to Tara, Alcide, Sookie and Bill. Sookie lets Bill feed from her to keep him from dying. He's starving, and has lost a lot of blood. He goes all evil vamp and feeds on her to the point of almost death. Tara throws Bill out of the truck into the sunlight, and they drive off to bring Sookie to the hospital. Sookie almost dies, as she apparently has no blood type (curious) and is in a coma. Apparently she's never really been sick before, ans has never been in a hospital (she wasn't even born in one). Sookie arrives in what can only be assumed to be Heaven, and is warned by a woman to beware of Bill, and that he will take her “light”. Bill saver her life by feeding her his blood.

Eric finds out from Sophie Ann's human, Hadley (Sookie's cousin) who or what Sookie is. Russell and Sophie Ann are married by the magister before Russell kills the magister.

Overall, we learn a lot in this episode – Bill may not be what he appears to be, Sookie is something that Eric “didn't expect”, and Cooter, Lorena, and the magister are all dead. The plot is moving along at a much faster pace now, and we're learning more and more each episode. It seems that Sookie is no longer a fan of Bill, so we'll see where that goes. Russell's plan seems to finally be coming to a head, as he is now the King of both Louisiana and Mississippi. The action has ramped up, but the sex is lacking in these last few episodes, but I guess we can't have it all.

The last episode was particularly emotional, with Sookie close to death and in Heaven. I didn't cry, but I can totally understand why other people might have cried when Sookie was close to death. Thankfully she lived. Also thankfully, Lorena is dead. I hated that b&^%$.

4 out of 5 stars