[Considering Disobedience]

Because the general public is more interested in breasts then quality television? Or there are a whole big bunch of millions of stoned people out there.

If this show gets a full season pick up. I'll go

[Lance's Girl]

I read the recap and I gotta say...I am sooo glad I quit watching it! Cause when I read how he told her to close one eye so she could see part of the house...I was LIVID. I'm blind in one eye and I have never been able to see with my bad one. Maybe some blurs but I couldn't if I tried. So if someone tried telling me to see with one eye, I'd go postal. And actually...I can see a whole house with one eye. She can't really speak for herself since she can see with two eyes.

Try being blind in one eye for one day. It ain't no picnic, writers!

Okay, I'm done now.

[Just Peachy.]

Originally Posted by ~CountryBumpkin~ Because the general public is more interested in breasts then quality television? Or there are a whole big bunch of millions of stoned people out there. If this show gets a full season pick up. I'll go

I'm hoping its one of these shows that people start to watch and then it just drops in ratings. What may sound like a good idea doesn't always work.

[shadowcrawler05]

So every few days, I get a Fanscape news letter in my e-mail. I don't know why; I think I signed up for it for the free stickers at Warped Tour once. Anyway, they always have a Top Picks section. This week's pick was from some kid named Noah and it was "Top Ten Worst Shows on TV." As follows:

1. Ghost Whisperer 2. So You Think You Can Dance 3. The Apprentice - Martha Stewart 4. Nanny 911 5. Two and a Half Men 6. The War At Home 7. Joey 8. Law and Order (all of them) 9. CSI (all of them) 10. The OC

Awesome. He appears to be in CBS's targetted demographic, too. Look at all the CBS shows on that list. GW, Two and a Half Men, the CSI franchise. Stupid, stupid network. Oh well. This really has no real validity, except that the general public apparently hates GW. Which makes me happy.

[Considering Disobedience]

Oh thank goodness, I just saw the top 10 list and thought oh now #1 but here it was for the worst. I am disappointed to see Joey and The OC on there though. Ok the OC is lacking again this season but I wouldn't call it the worst...and Joey is better then last season IMO. but anyway back on topic. YAY for GW being #1.

[blueschild007]

Did watch the second episode and sure the heck wont watch the third. Id raither watch nothing ( since really there is nothing on fridays I want to even watch except Monk when the new episodes come back on) then catch GW.

[shadowcrawler05]

I, unfortunately, have to watch the fourth episode, as my beloved Sean Maher (of Firefly/Serenity) is doing a guest shot. It makes me sad, that.

[Basia77]

I was going to watch this show just to have something to laugh at, but after last week's episode I can't even do that. It wasn't just bad, it was painfully bad. The acting and dialogue was so bad in places I had to cover my eyes. And then I was laughing at the scenes that were supposed to be "touching" - sorry, but I just can't take all these people crying and talking to the air next to JLH because she said the ghost is standing right there.

But of course, America is watching this garbage. When I see stuff like that I am amazed that JoA ever made it to television in the first place.

[shadowcrawler05]

Tell me about it. When I saw the pilot way back two years ago, as soon as it was over I said to myself "There's no way this'll last." Because it was actually good, thought provoking, and NOT saccharine, which was the major selling point for me. It was smart television that didn't insult my intelligence and, if fact, actually required me to use it most of the time. The acting was top notch, even from minor and guest characters, the stories and characters were all relatable and realistic. It surprised me, really, that the most realistic show on the air for two years (save their minor network induced low points) was about a girl who talked to G-d. I really think it just came at the wrong time. Right now, the American viewing audience doesn't want to think. They watch TV so they can avoid thinking. But it's starting to become more obvious that the tide is starting to shift and people actually want character driven dramas where they're required to use their brains. Look at the movie industry right now. The past several months have been absolutely terrible as far as revenue that the "blockbusters" are bringing in. Independent films are making it into the mainstream because of their deep, accurate characters and realistic plots that people can relate to and leave the theater thinking about. I wouldn't be surprised if this starts to translate to television in the next few years.

So yeah, point of all that, I think it was just a few years early for old JoA.

[Basia77]

I think you are right that the tide is starting to change - unfortunately, it takes the people in charge of these things the longest to figure that out.

JoA was either a few years to early or about a decade late. The early 90s gave us Northern Exposure - an excellent show a lot like JoA. If you haven't seen it, definitely rent the DVDs (not surprisingly, Barbara Hall worked on that show too). That time period also gave us Seinfeld - a show that struggled in the ratings for the first few seasons, but the network gave it a chance instead of pulling it prematurely. These cycles seem to run for about 10 years or so, so it is about time for people to return to that kind of storytelling and moving away from reality shows and procedurals.

It makes me sad because I don't think season two was all that it could have been. It seems like they started out with a plan, but the show kept switching directions, things were dropped and forgotten with no explanation, Joan lost several IQ points (this is really apparent when you watch early season one episodes and see that she was actually pretty smart then), and people acted out of character in order to squeeze them into the network-mandated plotlines (the Duffs being the most obvious, but I've heard that the "Adam cheats" and Ryan storylines were network demands as well). As such, season two didn't have that "realistic" feel to it that season one did. In the first season, everything seemed to develop organically, and even though you were hardly surprised by plot-twists, it wasn't because the writing was obvious, it was because the developments felt right and natural. It really lost that feeling and I suspect because CBS was trying to mold the show into something it wasn't.

Well, now CBS has what it wants in Ghost Whisperer. It doesn't matter to them that it is total crap, it brings in the ratings and that's all they care about. It seems there once was time in television when networks liked to have "prestige" shows - ones that critics loved and won awards - as well as their blockbusters. Sort of the school of thought that even though you sell more Ford Tauruses, that doesn't mean you stop selling Lincoln Towncars for those who want to invest in one. But I guess all that matters now is the almighty dollar.

[shadowcrawler05]

Can't say I've seen Northern Exposure, as I was but a wee one back in it's day. I'll check out the DVDs next time I think I'll have time to sit and watch them.

Sort of the school of thought that even though you sell more Ford Tauruses, that doesn't mean you stop selling Lincoln Towncars for those who want to invest in one. But I guess all that matters now is the almighty dollar.

Couldn't agree with that more. It's not even just television; it's movies, radio, clothing... There's a severe lack of interest in turning out a quality product these days, and it's more or less because your average American consumer is a sheep. Most people will basically buy anything they're fed. That's why most television shows that are overhyped are also the most successful, even if they're dreadfully awful. This is especially true if they have an abundance of young, pretty people, or even middle-aged pretty people.

To sum up the basic network mindset, when I was in school I had to take a management in media productions class, and we had an assignment where we had to produce a feature film with a certain budget and it had to be able to make the largest profit possible given our key demographic. During one of the lectures, our teacher told us this same method is used in every entertainment media, from television to music to video games: Treat it like t-shirt. Basically, you treat your show, movie, band, whatever as a product with the goal of selling as many as you possibly can. People try to enter the television and film industry because they have visions they want to be seen, and those are usually the first people to get disaffected by the industry. Artistic value means nothing there anymore unless it can be sold faster than bottles of water in August. And that's basically why everything on TV is crap.

Man. I'm too young to be this cynical. Oh well.

[Basia77]

People try to enter the television and film industry because they have visions they want to be seen, and those are usually the first people to get disaffected by the industry. Artistic value means nothing there anymore unless it can be sold faster than bottles of water in August. And that's basically why everyone on TV is crap. Man. I'm too young to be this cynical. Oh well.

Well, unforunately, you aren't cynical because it's true - as evident by the fact that most of the stuff on tv is crap, movies are crappy, and all these little pop tartlets who can't actually sing have recording contracts while talented bands have to produce their own CDs. It's also the reason why you see a lot of "big" stars do independent films - because they aren't getting any satisfaction from the big studio products they do. Even George Clooney said he does the blockbusters so that he can fund the smaller, more satisfying projects (like the new movie he directed coming out this fall).

GW is doing well in the ratings because it was manufactured to do well in the ratings. It isn't a show that came about because someone had a great idea or wanted to explore a certain topic through a tv show - it was created to bring in a certain demographic and that's it. They just went down the checklist: Hook for the premise? Check (ghosts). Pretty girl with big boobs? Check. Sassy best friend for our heroine? Check. Handsome hubby for hints of romance? Check. Every episode follows a predictable pattern and wraps up with a happy ending? Check.

[shadowcrawler05]

Yep, that would be the perfect checklist for manufactured, sappy tv guaranteed to bring the ratings. Like I said, shows like this are products, nothing more. And it's sad, really, when there are flash cartoons on the internet that are more intellectual than most shows on television. It's really no surprise that I prefer freelancing local commercials to actually trying to get an industry job right now, what with my idealistic youth and all that. A friend and I actually wrote a pilot in college, but decided to shelve it since we were stupid and actually wrote something we found thought provoking and intelligent. We were actually going to produce a screener, since we had the school's blessing and access to any and all neccessary equipment, but meh.

[clueless01]

For some reason it makes me really happy that this board has a hate thread for Ghost Whisperer. Has this godawful show been canceled yet?

[shadowcrawler05]

Sadly, it is not. I believe it will be entering its fourth season. It makes me die a little inside.

What also kills me a little is to read my old posts above yours and see what an angry and bitter individual I was three years ago. Sheesh.