Is NBC even trying anymore?

[RainMaker]

Have you seen some of the shows they've put out lately?

Rosie Live
My Own Worst Enemy
Knight Rider
Crusoe
America's Toughest Jobs
Bionic Woman

Now we have a couple new shows coming out:

Howie Do It
Momma's Boy

Seriously, this is the kind of stuff I would come up with if I was drunk and joking around with friends on what the worst shows I could possibly create.

[terpkristin]

Well, aren't Rosie Live and My Own Worst Enemy canceled?

Most broadcast TV sucks I'm finding. Yay for sports, cartoons, and Netflix.

/tk

[Lathum]

My own worst enemy was canceled?

link please?

[ISiddiqui]

We are talking about the network with Chuck, Heroes, the Office, and 30 Rock, right? And Friday Night Lights is coming back to it.

It may be the network that I most DVR during the week.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Lathum

My own worst enemy was canceled?

link please?

Canceled My Own Worst Enemy Was Its Own Worst Enemy | The Underwire from Wired.com

/tk

[Lathum]

thats a drag, I really liked that show.

I think networks are to quick to pull the plug these days

[ISiddiqui]

Well the ratings for it were utterly abysmal.

[Raiders Army]

I wonder who thought giving an ugly fat lesbian a show would be a success. At least Roseanne was somewhat funny.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

I wonder who thought giving an ugly fat lesbian a show would be a success. At least Roseanne was somewhat funny.

Probably would have been a hit for Bravo though.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Canceled My Own Worst Enemy Was Its Own Worst Enemy | The Underwire from Wired.com

/tk

Thank god. My wife makes me watch it with her...she's had a crush on Christian Slater since she was like 12.

What's this about Friday Night Lights coming back?!?!?

[ISiddiqui]

It comes back on January, I believe. Showing the eps that we showing this fall on the satellite only network.

[Alan T]

I think NBC is just behind Fox for the station with the most shows I watch. I catch Chuck, Heroes and various Law and orders every week. I still occasionally watch ER even though not as much these days.

I loved Journeyman and was sad they got rid of it, and probably would have given Crusoe a shot if they hadn't put it on when they did in the schedule (Didn't they put it on Saturday nights or something rediculous?)

If there was a station that is pretty much never on for me, it would be ABC. I can't think of any show other than Lost which I have watched on ABC in at least 5 years.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Well, aren't Rosie Live and My Own Worst Enemy canceled?

Bionic Woman was also canned last year so it was only around for one season. I doubt Knight Rider last long as well. Do they put out crap? Yes, but I can easily ramble off a bunch of crap that's not only still on, but heavily promoted on other networks.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

We are talking about the network with Chuck, Heroes, the Office, and 30 Rock, right? And Friday Night Lights is coming back to it.

It may be the network that I most DVR during the week.

I am in the same boat. I know NBC is struggling and is a distance last place in terms of ratings and all, but I record four shows every week: Heroes (which, admittedly, sucks), Terminator, The Office, and 30 Rock. Three of the four shows I watch are NBC shows. So, they are at least doing soemthing right.

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

It comes back on January, I believe. Showing the eps that we showing this fall on the satellite only network.

Awesome. I downloaded them a couple of weeks ago but haven't gotten around to watching them. I think I'll wait to watch it on the big(ger) screen, now...

[MikeVic]

NBC has the most shows that I watch, so I was surprised when I found out they suck with ratings.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Have you seen some of the shows they've put out lately?

Rosie Live
My Own Worst Enemy
Knight Rider
Crusoe
America's Toughest Jobs
Bionic Woman

Now we have a couple new shows coming out:

Howie Do It
Momma's Boy

Seriously, this is the kind of stuff I would come up with if I was drunk and joking around with friends on what the worst shows I could possibly create.

Hell, maybe I should pitch them with my TV show idea. I wasn't drunk and joking around with friends when I was coming up with it, but it was truly terrible, probably just as bad as "Howie Do It." So here's the idea:

Find a person who openly admits to hating a certain group of people. I mean, this person hates these people, whether it's atheists, hippies, unwed mothers, whatever. So you find this person and offer them $500 to sit down in a restaurant and eat one meal with someone from this group. Then you sit these two people at the table and bring one bowl of soup. Now, they can each use a separate spoon - I'm not trying to shame anybody here - but they have to both eat from the same bowl. If they finish the bowl, the contestant gets $100.

Move on to the entree round. It's a plate of spaghetti with two forks. If they finish the plate, the contestant gets another $300. Finally, there's the dessert round. Oh, yes. Wait for it... Yes, it's a single bowl of ice cream with two spoons in it. That's worth the final $100. Maybe you can add in a bonus round. Put a cherry in the ice cream. Have the "hated person" hold the cherry stem in their mouth, and the contestant has to bite off the cherry while the other person holds the stem.

I was about to put that idea into the trash where it belonged, but I think NBC just might greenlight this.

[sterlingice]

Needs a snappy title, Pumpy. C'mon, think like a tv executive ("well, first I'm going to remove half of my brain- you know, the half with the thinking and morals part")

SI

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Hell, maybe I should pitch them with my TV show idea. I wasn't drunk and joking around with friends when I was coming up with it, but it was truly terrible, probably just as bad as "Howie Do It." So here's the idea:

Find a person who openly admits to hating a certain group of people. I mean, this person hates these people, whether it's atheists, hippies, unwed mothers, whatever. So you find this person and offer them $500 to sit down in a restaurant and eat one meal with someone from this group. Then you sit these two people at the table and bring one bowl of soup. Now, they can each use a separate spoon - I'm not trying to shame anybody here - but they have to both eat from the same bowl. If they finish the bowl, the contestant gets $100.

Move on to the entree round. It's a plate of spaghetti with two forks. If they finish the plate, the contestant gets another $300. Finally, there's the dessert round. Oh, yes. Wait for it... Yes, it's a single bowl of ice cream with two spoons in it. That's worth the final $100. Maybe you can add in a bonus round. Put a cherry in the ice cream. Have the "hated person" hold the cherry stem in their mouth, and the contestant has to bite off the cherry while the other person holds the stem.

I was about to put that idea into the trash where it belonged, but I think NBC just might greenlight this.

I think they'll be showing this during the summer, to give it a trial run.

[Schmidty]

To their credit, they have my current favorite show - "Chuck".

[Chief Rum]

I think I have mentioned this before, but if not, here it is. I have also long had an idea for a crappy reality show.

Basically, grab ten hot young women under the age of 22, and put them in a house together for a month. The house has one bathroom and one phone.

Take away their cellphones. Lock the door and when there is only one left, unlock it.

Ratings gold!

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I think I have mentioned this before, but if not, here it is. I have also long had an idea for a crappy reality show.

Basically, grab ten hot young women under the age of 22, and put them in a house together for a month. The house has one bathroom and one phone.

Take away their cellphones. Lock the door and when there is only one left, unlock it.

Ratings gold!

I'd watch this if it had a mix of young girls. I mean, it'll have a couple spoiled bitches, a couple country women, a couple urban women, etc... different races too. That'd be a great show. But they'd all have to be hot.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I think I have mentioned this before, but if not, here it is. I have also long had an idea for a crappy reality show.

Basically, grab ten hot young women under the age of 22, and put them in a house together for a month. The house has one bathroom and one phone.

Take away their cellphones. Lock the door and when there is only one left, unlock it.

Ratings gold!

They would all go crazy and kill each other within 30 minutes.

Better make it PPV.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Alan T

If there was a station that is pretty much never on for me, it would be ABC. I can't think of any show other than Lost which I have watched on ABC in at least 5 years.

It is CBS for me. I watch absolutely nothing on CBS, and haven't in quite awhile, yet it is the most watched channel. *Shrug*

[mattlanta]

I'm waiting for that one show that will save us all!

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Libid21

I'm waiting for that one show that will save us all!

I know, I know, I'm working on the pitch to NBC right now. Hold your horses!

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Hell, maybe I should pitch them with my TV show idea. I wasn't drunk and joking around with friends when I was coming up with it, but it was truly terrible, probably just as bad as "Howie Do It." So here's the idea:

Find a person who openly admits to hating a certain group of people. I mean, this person hates these people, whether it's atheists, hippies, unwed mothers, whatever.

Hey, if you can somehow get JiMGa in front of the camera.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Hey, if you can somehow get JiMGa in front of the camera.

Ok I just snorted pepsi Max out of my nose, thank you OH so much cuervo

[Cringer]

All the shows listed in the first post suck, except My Own Worst Enemy, I enjoyed the show and can't wait to see what horrible crap they replace it with.

NBC does have good stuff as other pointed out though. Thursday night is a decent night with the Office, and the Katt and Kim show or whatever it's called is ok enough to watch so far, as is My Name is Earl. I am a big fan of Life if they stop moving what night it is on for a while, and of course Heroes.

I can't even think of what CBS and ABC have on that I watch on a regular basis, though that show with the nerdy guys is funny but I can't remember the name or when it's on.

Fox has the hot local news anchor and weather girl, so that is must watch TV for me usually.

[Crapshoot]

The Office, 30 Rock, and Chuck - all fairly enjoyable (the first 2 are obviously top notch, and Chuck is fun). More than I record on any other network.

Other DVR shows:
- How I Met Your Mother
- Pushing Daisies

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Cringer

All the shows listed in the first post suck, except My Own Worst Enemy, I enjoyed the show and can't wait to see what horrible crap they replace it with.

NBC does have good stuff as other pointed out though. Thursday night is a decent night with the Office, and the Katt and Kim show or whatever it's called is ok enough to watch so far, as is My Name is Earl. I am a big fan of Life if they stop moving what night it is on for a while, and of course Heroes.

I can't even think of what CBS and ABC have on that I watch on a regular basis, though that show with the nerdy guys is funny but I can't remember the name or when it's on.

Fox has the hot local news anchor and weather girl, so that is must watch TV for me usually.

Big Bang Theory - it's on in 4 minutes (Mondays at 8pm EST)

[Cringer]

Yup, I almost came to post it after I happened on it while flipping. Good show that I wish I caught more often. One day I will have a DVR.

[Neon_Chaos]

Yay for Big Bang Theory!

(although it's slowly becoming the Sheldon show)

[RainMaker]

Apparently NBC is moving Leno to 10pm EST timeslot. So you'll have 3 and a half hours of talk shows at night.

Leno 10-11
Local News 11-11:30
Conan 11:30-12:30
Fallon 12:30 - 1:30
Daly 1:30 - 2:00

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Apparently NBC is moving Leno to 10pm EST timeslot. So you'll have 3 and a half hours of talk shows at night.

Leno 10-11
Local News 11-11:30
Conan 11:30-12:30
Fallon 12:30 - 1:30
Daly 1:30 - 2:00

Good move by NBC. There was speculation as to where Leno would go once Conan takes over the Tonight Show in June next year. At least they're completely avoiding giving away a home-grown talent to other networks to possibly go head-to-head with the Tonight Show with Conan O'brien.

[saldana]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Bionic Woman was also canned last year so it was only around for one season. I doubt Knight Rider last long as well. Do they put out crap? Yes, but I can easily ramble off a bunch of crap that's not only still on, but heavily promoted on other networks.

knight rider is not long for this earth...they apparenly only contracted the actors for 13 episodes, so since the contracts are up for all the people that run the organization they work for, they arent renewing them. instead, they are going back to just Mike, the hot chick, and the 2 dorks roaming around the country helping random people instead of working for the government.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Apparently NBC is moving Leno to 10pm EST timeslot. So you'll have 3 and a half hours of talk shows at night.

Leno 10-11
Local News 11-11:30
Conan 11:30-12:30
Fallon 12:30 - 1:30
Daly 1:30 - 2:00

Jimmy Fallon is replacing Conan? Ugh

SI

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Jimmy Fallon is replacing Conan? Ugh

SI

The bigger shocker is The Roots being his band.

[sterlingice]

So does that mean the Max Weinberg 7 are moving to Conan's new show?

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

So does that mean the Max Weinberg 7 are moving to Conan's new show?

Apparently yes on Max, unclear about the other six.

[kcchief19]

This is bad news for Conan. A talk show like Leno's has a low ceiling in prime time -- he'll be lucky to get 6 million viewers. And have you seen the competition? Leno vs. CSI: NY, CSI: Miami and Without a Trace is bad news -- his demo is watching CBS. If Leno pulls in 6 million (or less) and CSI is pulling in 13 million, that's not exactly a victory.

This is Leno-Letterman all over again. NBC tried offering Letterman prime time to keep him and even offered him a deal just like Conan's that would have given him the Tonight Show at the end of the Leno's contract. Letterman didn't go for it because he knew that if Leno was a hit NBC would reneg on the deal.

It's bad news for Conan because if he tanks in the Tonight Show slot, NBC still has Leno. They can move him back to the 11:30 slot and send Conan out the door as damaged goods.

Technically it's evil genius by NBC because they are able to give Conan his shot but still have Leno there to take over if needed. Then again, the only reason NBC can afford to do this is because their prime lineup is garbage. Sadly, 6 million viewers at 10 pm is a decent number for them on most nights.

[Greyroofoo]

As a viewer I like moving Leno to 10pm. I enjoy both Leno and Conan but I can't stay up late enough to watch Conan. So now I'll be able to see them both regularly.

[RendeR]

I can't believe Conan O'brien still has a job. The man is an idiot with no real talent. I hear him speak and I want to blow up my TV.

The only late night show I ever watch at all is Furgeson. And thats pretty much only if there isn't a movie or sporting event on worth watching.

Always hated Leno/Letterman.O'brien too. Then again I grew up watching Carson and have never seen any of them show even the lsightest ability to entertain the way Johhny used to.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

This is bad news for Conan. A talk show like Leno's has a low ceiling in prime time -- he'll be lucky to get 6 million viewers. And have you seen the competition? Leno vs. CSI: NY, CSI: Miami and Without a Trace is bad news -- his demo is watching CBS. If Leno pulls in 6 million (or less) and CSI is pulling in 13 million, that's not exactly a victory.

He doesn't have to compete with those shows though. The show costs much less than a TV show. I've read that it's less than 20% of the cost of an hour of drama. All he has to do is grab half the audience and it's worth it for NBC.

But another important aspect is that new programming only accounts for half the year on most networks. Leno will be on 46 weeks. That means he will have a huge advantage during re-run weeks.

[Fidatelo]

I'm not a huge fan of Leno, but I'll watch Leno over all but a handful of existing primetime shows.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

He doesn't have to compete with those shows though. The show costs much less than a TV show. I've read that it's less than 20% of the cost of an hour of drama. All he has to do is grab half the audience and it's worth it for NBC.

On a per hour basis, that might be close to right. There is no way Leno will get half the audience of CSI on average. 6 million viewers is at the end high end -- I think he'll probably draw fewer viewers than he gets now, which is about 4.8 million. Think about this -- Rosie O'Donnell's variety show was a colossal failure and it drew more viewers than Leno does on average. If his show is drawing a third of a third of the ratings of CSI at a quarter of the cost, that's not a victory.

Originally Posted by RainMaker

But another important aspect is that new programming only accounts for half the year on most networks. Leno will be on 46 weeks. That means he will have a huge advantage during re-run weeks.

That swings both ways -- if they rerun Leno shows in prime time it will get crushed to a pulp, especially if Leno is on vacation against first-run programs.

Two things I throught were interesting from Jeff Zucker, who is bound and determined to get fired by Don Geiss:

* In talking about how NBC might program less than 22 hours of prime time a week to cut costs, Zucker said three of NBC's competitors don't and one doesn't have program seven days a week. The three competitors are Fox, CW and MyNetworkTV and MyNetworkTV only has six day programming. The difference between NBC and Fox is American Idol. Fox has a half dozen shows that beat anything on NBC in the ratings other than Sunday Night Football, which right now is carrying NBC. Take SNF out of the ratings and NBC is in the crapper. Is Zucker essentially saying NBC is a second-tier network and can't (or won't) compete with the CBS, ABC and Fox?

* Zucker said Leno is "DVR proof" in that people watch the show and don't record it to skip commercials making it more attractive to advertisers. If any show on TV is DVR proof, I would agree that it's Leno. If you are DVRing Leno, you have serious problems.

[DaddyTorgo]

why is leno dvr-proof??

[DaddyTorgo]

ugh - and i didn't mention - i hate the idea of leno in primetime. as much as you want to say it makes good business sense or whatever, it's essentially NBC mailing it in, throwing in the towel.

and it sets a bad precedent

[Schmidty]

It's just TV. Who cares.

I don't mean that to be a smart-ass, but seriously, TV will always be changing - for the better, for the worse, etc. If every format stayed the same forever, we'd be stuck with something like......the text-sim world.

[Chief Rum]

This will revolutionize the way I don't watch talk show TV.