I think NCIS has shown or proven it has become the little show that could. --Lavender
-------------------------------------------------- From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@yahoo.com> Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 5:40 PM To: <scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com> Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Black Man stars in 2nd Highest Rated TV Drama > I personally find the original NCIS surprisingly watchable. Still, I was > very surprised to see it at the top of the ratings. Perhaps I shouldn't > have been. NCIS is one of the rare television programs that has gone UP > in ratings every season it has been on. I have not yet seen NCIS:LA. > > In either case, the success of NCIS:LA does not bode well for Network > television. NCIS: Miami, anyone? > > ~(no)rave! > > --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> > wrote: >> >> Well, like I said a couple of weeks ago. the NCIS: LA show completely >> failed to engage me. I've already stopped watching. given that it's not >> as good as the original (which I never watched), I won't miss missing it. >> Sad state of affairs for TV. What's funny, though, is the end of the >> article calls "The Mentalist" an original show, but it's not: a bunch of >> regular cops stand around while some kind of specialist with a unique >> talent/perspective helps solve crimes? Try "Monk", "Psych", "Castle" and >> others with the same basic formula. >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@...> >> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com >> Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:21:29 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern >> Subject: [scifinoir2] Black Man stars in 2nd Highest Rated TV Drama >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Forty-four years after Bill Cosby co-starred in "I Spy," a black man >> headlines the second highest rated drama on television. >> >> The larger issue of "cookie cutter" television addressed in the article >> below is chilling. >> >> ~rave? >> >> http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=139632 >> >> Why 'NCIS:LA' Is Getting the Best Ratings of the Season for a New Show >> >> CBS's Formula to Keep Viewers and Advertisers Happy Is Also a Sign of >> Trouble for Original Scripted Fare >> >> By Brian Steinberg >> >> Published: October 13, 2009 >> >> NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Every Tuesday at 9 p.m., a group of >> government-backed investigators helps save the nation from rogue >> operatives, terrorists or federal employees who go astray for any number >> of reasons -- all with lots of action and just a touch of humor. >> >> CBS >> 'NCIS: LA' >> If the question, "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?" echoes in the >> back of your mind, chances are you might be watching CBS, which seems to >> be making a concerted effort to maintain sizable audiences for its >> schedule by building programs with concepts its viewers already find >> familiar. "NCIS: LA," a West Coast tweak on the original "NCIS" that >> centers on the premise above, appears to be the most-watched freshman >> program of the infant 2009-2010 season. >> For the week ending Oct. 4, about 17.4 million people watched the >> program, according to Nielsen; the only drama that topped it was its >> predecessor, "NCIS," which was the most-watched broadcast show of the >> week (NBC's "Sunday Night Football" is the only thing that kept the >> L.A.-centered spin-off from taking second place among viewers, though >> ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" had a higher household rating than the new >> show). >> >> Popular with advertisers too >> Advertisers like the spin-off, too; according to CBS executives, the >> program is reaching a "high sellout" in the fourth quarter market for >> so-called scatter advertising, or ad time purchased closer to air date. >> Because it fluctuates based on the immediate market, scatter is taken as >> a good sign of a program's overall popularity with marketers. Recent >> advertisers on "NCIS: LA" included Home Depot, Wal-Mart Stores and >> Pfizer's Lipitor. "NCIS" took in around $118 million in advertising >> during the 2008-2009 season, according to TNS Media Intelligence. >> >> Yet the success of "NCIS: LA" illustrates an emerging dilemma for the >> biggest TV networks in the land: To keep the large audiences that >> advertisers demand of them, they aren't able to experiment much with new >> show concepts or quirky ideas. Indeed, the CW's schedule includes three >> hours a week of revamps of two old Fox hits, "Melrose Place" and "90210." >> One can make the argument that ABC's new "Flash Forward" serves up the >> same elements -- mystery, long story arcs, riddles -- that made its >> soon-to-end "Lost" such a showpiece, and that its new "Modern Family" >> sitcom steals its documentary-style storytelling from NBC's "The Office." >> >> One might even suggest that the premise for another successful CBS show, >> "The Good Wife," is ripped from the headlines -- making it something that >> already resonates with potential fans. >> >> "When you think about the landscape of television today, there are so >> many choices -- and so many good choices -- how do you give yourself a >> leg up?" asked David Stapf, president-CBS Television Studios, which >> produces "NCIS: LA" and the CW's "Melrose" and "90210" updates. "One of >> the ways to do that is to find ideas and/or titles that are not going to >> be as challenging from a marketing standpoint," he added. >> >> NBC's abrupt cancellation of gritty police drama "Southland" offers >> further proof that keeping decidedly unique programs on the air is a >> tougher feat these days. >> >> When devising "NCIS: LA," CBS deliberately wanted to stick close to what >> had already worked. "Because 'NCIS' has such a loyal following, you >> really have to respect the viewer and stay very close to the original >> brand," said Nina Tassler, president-CBS Entertainment. "Don't deviate >> from that, especially in your storytelling methods, which we are paying >> very close attention to." >> >> Getting started >> CBS had mulled the idea of an "NCIS" spin-off on the studio side for at >> least a season. Some viewers may not realize that the original program is >> in its seventh season -- often considered long-in-the-tooth in terms of >> TV-show tenures, but syndication had helped "NCIS" continue to grow its >> ratings. And, as it would happen, Mr. Stapf said, CBS had a deal with LL >> Cool J, now one of the stars of "LA," to find programming that might be >> suited for him. The journey from concept to TV show was quick: Shane >> Brennan, executive producer of both "NCIS" shows, recalls discussing the >> idea with Mr. Stapf around September 2008. Mr. Brennan already had some >> ideas in mind, and was able to pitch a concept to Ms. Tassler by >> mid-autumn. From there, an ersatz "pilot" episode was introduced during >> the run of "NCIS" last April. >> >> Taking the cookie-cutter route will only get them so far, executives >> said. Over time, said Ms. Tassler, the characters will grow and develop, >> allowing for some degree of originality and creative choice-making. The >> original show features actor Mark Harmon driving a group of >> investigators, while the new version is more of a "buddy" show, said Mr. >> Brennan, with LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell as leads. He likens the >> concept to the interaction between "Miami Vice's" Crockett and Tubbs or >> the leads in "Starsky & Hutch." Even so, both programs feature broad >> teams that include a veteran actor -- David McCallum for "NCIS" and Linda >> Hunt for "NCIS: LA" -- who offers advice and counsel. >> >> "You can't introduce a new show with new characters and have the audience >> hold them up in comparison to the characters on 'NCIS,'" said Mr. >> Brennan, who suggested he wouldn't stand against the development of a >> third "NCIS" program if there were demand for it. "The trick is to make >> sure if there is a third one that it has strong characters and once again >> shines a light on [the concept] that doesn't repeat what [viewers] have >> already seen on 'NCIS' and 'NCIS: LA'." >> >> Spin-offs aren't new, by any means. ABC's "Private Practice" grew out of >> "Grey's Anatomy," and the TV landscape has always included many >> outgrowths of popular TV properties. "Happy Days" begat "Joanie Loves >> Chachi," "Laverne & Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy," while "Friends" gave >> rise to "Joey." What's new about modern efforts is that their initial >> launches hinge less on the characters and actors that bring in big crowds >> and more on the story concept or genre, an approach pioneered by NBC's >> "Law and Order" franchise, which has grown to include several iterations >> of the original, one that is still on broadcast ("Law and Order: SVU") >> and one that's been relegated to cable ("Law and Order: Criminal >> Intent"). >> >> Conventional fare works >> With more programming scattered across the set-top box as well as the >> computer, iPhone and other devices, the thought among ad buyers is that >> familiar fare does a better job of luring the masses. CBS programs "are >> very conventional kinds of shows. In times like these, that works," said >> David Scardino, an entertainment specialist at RPA, an independent agency >> that includes Honda among its clients. "As a general proposition, I don't >> think I would have said that three years ago," he added. >> >> Indeed, CBS rivals have found tougher sledding when it comes to launching >> new programs. ABC's "Flash Forward" attracted around 10.7 million viewers >> for the week ending Oct. 4, and "Modern Family" nabbed about 9.9 million, >> according to Nielsen. Fox's "Glee," a wholly original concept that weaves >> together musical performance and high-school drama, captured only 7.4 >> million -- though the program has won plaudits and has gained viewers >> since its debut, a sign that the yearning for comfortable TV could >> certainly end. >> >> More surprising, perhaps, is the admission that broadcast networks have >> less room to develop clever, unique concepts that drive buzz and >> conversation along the lines of AMC's "Mad Men." "You would think some of >> the creative, some of the juice, has been stifled a little," said Andrew >> Donchin, director-media investment at Aegis Group's Carat. "Anything that >> works, you know it's going to be cloned." >> >> CBS, which once lobbed quirkier fare such as "Swingtown," "Viva Laughlin" >> and "Love Monkey" at viewers, has backed down from that after a spate of >> cancellations. Still, Ms. Tassler suggested that "The Mentalist" and "The >> Good Wife" demonstrate that networks can still create wholly original >> works that have mass appeal. >> >> Of course, creativity has its limits. How many new ideas can the TV >> networks really come up with? "In all dramatic storytelling from Greek >> drama to modern day there are only 36 dramatic situations, and, >> ultimately, at the end of the day, you are going to employ one or several >> in your storytelling." Ms. Tassler said. >> >> Indeed, now armed with two "NCIS" dramas as well as three hours based on >> crime-procedural "CSI," CBS is already trying to develop a spin off of >> "Criminal Minds," executives say. And the network has committed to make a >> pilot that could revive the old police drama "Hawaii Five-0." Cue the >> familiar theme music... >> > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Post your SciFiNoir Profile at > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo! > > Groups Links > > > >
