The San Francisco Chronicle of Television Education Give NBC a hand Tim Goodman Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Everything we know we learned from television: -- One of the best tidbits from the TV world over the last several weeks is that, according to Daily Variety, NBC has decided it needs a "brand makeover." The trade publication says NBC needs to find some focus about what it should be known for - that the crazy scheduling, terrible shows and muddled leadership do not necessarily scream "Must-See TV" anymore. Of course, we're more than happy to help. How about, "Like ABC and CBS and Fox, but without all the hits." Or, "Lametastic!" We also think bringing in the peacock logo is a plus because it reminds viewers of the old days. How about: "NBC. Now in color." Sometimes speaking the truth to viewers hits a chord. "Our Thursday night rocks! Except for 'Kath & Kim.' And 'ER.' " How about, "We kick the CW's backside most nights!" -- ABC didn't have such great ratings for the Season 5 premiere of "Lost." Part of that has to do with switching nights - Wednesdays are tough. Part of that is also leading off with quantum physics as the key ingredient. Americans love a good brain knot. -- Message to Oprah: This may come as a surprise to you, but when America elected President Obama, you were not on the ticket. Give the man some space. You're like a crazy stalker. Get back on Oprah Force One and head home. -- For all of you "Blossom" fans wondering what the adorable little one is up to these days, well, she's got a couple of kids and a doctorate - bet you didn't think we were going in that direction - and is reportedly not interested in a career in academia. She wants to act. You know what? This is too easy. We're moving on. -- If the "Blossom"-as-suburban-mom thing doesn't make you feel old, try this one: "SpongeBob SquarePants" is 10 years old. A decade since the first. And yes, we remember our first "I've got a spongebob in my squarepants" joke, delivered pretty close to the announcement that the show was being developed. Always on the bleeding edge of dumb. -- Now that AMC has finally come to its senses and paid "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner to stick around for a couple of seasons (via a small truckload of money - small being relative), the new question of importance is this: When is Season 3 coming? Stop counting your money and get to work! -- In 1991, Kelli McCarty was Miss USA. Later she starred on "Passions," one of the weirdest soap operas ever. Now? She's getting into porn. When asked why, she reportedly said that acting and sex were "two of my passions." See how she worked "Passions" into there? Clever. Who knew there was acting in porn, much less in soap operas. We learn something every day. -- Like this: After telling readers there was no way that George Clooney would join all the other former "ER" actors and return to film episodes in this final season, well, he has. We're not going to take that as a slap. It's just Clooney being Clooney. Love the guy. All is forgiven. Stupid show, trite ploy to lure back former stars. But whatever. We're over it. -- We know what you're thinking and we want you to stop right now: Blossom wants to get back into acting. Acting is one of her passions. No. Just stop. -- Wait a minute. The Clooney thing gives us an idea for NBC. "We got Clooney. Next stop Seinfeld! All the way back, baby!" -- So if you're following the endless rumors about an "Arrested Development" movie, you probably know that Michael Cera, who played George-Michael Bluth on the series before finding fame on the big screen in a varied assortment of geek roles, is the lone holdout. One rumor was that he didn't want to be typecast. Of course, he's allegedly going to play Gilligan in the "Gilligan's Island" remake. Nah, that won't be a typecasting problem, right? And anyway, he wants to see a script. And he's blatantly dismissive of the movie. So here's a pretty obvious idea: Write him out. Or, in the movie, keep referencing him doing horrible things. Or cast someone who doesn't look like him and make that a running joke - very "Arrested Development." Or cast five or six people for the role, and just have them pop up randomly as George-Michael. Fans of the series would get the joke and laugh. Or have Justin Lee, who played Annyong Bluth, play George-Michael. This is a series based on inside jokes. Don't let Gilligan get in the way of your movie, Mitch Hurwitz. -- "NBC: Fourth place and loving it!" -- Shonda Rhimes, the creator of "Grey's Anatomy," told the Chicago Tribune that the feel-good vibes of the Obama victory would mean that going forward the show is going to be more positive - more patients will live. People will be happier. We are also feeling newfound hope. We're hoping "Grey's Anatomy" doesn't continue to be stupid and asinine. -- NBC: "Is Fred Silverman still alive? If so, drop a line." -- Bring me the head of George-Michael Bluth. -- The High Fives: 1. "Lost." 2. "Battlestar Galactica." 3. "Damages." 4. To be in the room when Matt Weiner lays out the story arc for Season 3 of "Mad Men." 5. George Clooney. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
