Mike Fleiss Should Never
Be Allowed on TV Again - January 19
If you're a big viewer of
this site, then no doubt, you've heard me say on more
than one occasion, "Mike Fleiss should never be allowed
on TV again." And it's hard to remain neutral in this
research paper disguised as a column.... so I'm not even
going to bother!
Mike Fleiss should never
be allowed on TV again.
This time, the proof is
in the numbers. Let's bring them up, shall we?
We'll Always Have
Paris.
You may find it hard to
believe (or not), but from the moment the Bachelor
franchise actually produced a lasting couple in reality
whore Trista Sutter and her man Friday Ryan, I was
predicting its demise. And slowly, but surely, we're
coming toward the end. ABC's post-MNF Monday lineup
(January 10) delivered a fourth-place finish behind
CBS's comedies, NBC's dramas, and Fox's
all-but-condemned comedy lineup. While it's easy to
blame comedies "Emily's Reasons Why Not" and "Jake in
Progress", there's enough blame to go around. Take a
look at the numbers for third-place "The Bachelor:
Paris":
In the overnights we have
a 5.3/8 & 6.2 million viewers. In the adults 18-49
demo... only a paltry 2.8/7.
And if any ABC brass is
watching thinking that they can spin this to their
advantage, check this out....
Last year, "The
Bachelorette" (with its dumbkopf Jen Schefft at the
helm) scored thusly: 6.7/10 in the overnights, 9.12
million viewers, and 4.3/10 in the demo.
I think it's safe to say
that the dating reality subgenre... OVER. At least in a
perfect world.
Now to some happier
news...
Biggest... Idol...
Ever...
It's always safe to say
"American Idol is back." This year, though, it's a
first. We can now safely say "American Idol is back...
with a vengeance!" Last Tuesday's opener broke the
record as the highest-rated premiere for the franchise
in its four-year history, attracting 35.5 million
viewers. The end result: 15.2/34 in the adults 18-49
demographic, according to preliminary data released
Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research. That's up six
percent from the last season's opener, which was no
turkey itself, building from the season 3 opener. Last
year, the Idol scored thusly: 33.6 million viewers
and a 14.0/33. It also scored big among adults 18-34,
averaging 14.7/36 compared to the 14.3/37 a year ago, a
level showing.
Its biggest following
came at 9p, when 38.7 million viewers watch Simon tear
the dreams of the deluded to ribbons. And there were
plenty of dreams deterred, I warn you.
Scrapheap Challenge
The godfather of this
site Jason Elliott e-mailed me this...
Is it just me or
should we be seeing a PR from NBC shelving and/or
canceling Fear Factor within seven days? It got
absolutely pummeled by Idol last night. I think it may
have been fifth behind whatever the WB had on.
Not far from the truth,
you are. NBC's "Fear Factor" suffered, managing only a
2.9/4 in the demo, only good for fifth behind "Idol", "NCIS",
"According to Jim" & "Rodney", and "Gilmore Girls".
Clearly, another
franchise whose days are numbered, as I pine for "Deal
or No Deal".
The Weekly Rant, or Kevin
Marshall played like the requisite candy-ass challenger.
Going back to "Idol" for
a second, it recently came out that Kelly Clarkson, who
has the blessing and curse of being the first American
Idol, did not license any of her songs to be used on the
show. Of course, it didn't stop the prospectives from
coming out with "Since U Been Gone", the biggest song of
last year... at least one of them sang it judging from
audition clips.
At best, it's a
misunderstanding in paperwork. At worst, it's Kelly's
latest attempt to distance herself from the show that
made her a star. Now control is not a bad thing in the
least and Kelly admits that there is no bad blood
between her and the show, but Simon Cowell seems to
think otherwise, as he's blasted the first child of Idol
about forgetting her roots.
I would agree with him. I
mean, it's one thing to know where you're going, but
it's quite another to forget where you'd been. After
all, were it not for the show, she'd still be waiting
tables at a Burleson, TX, chowhouse somewhere.
I'm reminded of Chinua
Achebe's words regarding his book, "Things Fall Apart".
Something akin to having one foot in the past and one
foot in the future. Perhaps Kelly should take a reading
to Mr. Achebe's works.
If you happen to run
into Chico Alexander today, wish him a happy 26th
birthday. E-mail him at chico@gameshownewsnet.com. |