Grid Effect

Here’s an extended links to compensate for the day hiatus. Enjoy.

The Survivor: Fiji finale fell 27% in ratings from last year. I get the impression this show doesn’t have more than a couple more seasons in it. CBS’s expectations are too high. Burnett can always take this to NBC.

Speaking of NBC, here’s the Entertainment President’s approach to programming. I like it. To compare and contrast, this is ABC’s new fall lineup. And it reminds me why I only watch three shows on the four major networks.

George Lopez completely misses the point and demonstrates why mainstream America cannot stand entertainers having any influence in politics, social or otherwise. Well done, Mr. Lopez. I’m not going to claim to have ever watched the series, but if it was any good, then he’s just another example of quality programs getting chopped down to make way for a potential ratings blitz. In this case, he was cancelled for a series spun from the Geico Caveman commericals. It’s unfortunate, but a bi-product of the industry.

Seinfeld is returning to NBC. Not the series, the actual person. Essentially Jerry is pimping his new Dreamworks project, Bee Movie, with a series of mini episodes that take the audience behind the scenes. So does every comedian who has kids feel compelled to pander to them at some point with their material? And has this always been the situation or is this a recent phenomena?

Sunday’s episode of Entourage was written for the purposes of getting Drama some Emmy recognition. At least they chose the right actor, you could right the next Citizen Kane for any of the other three and they would manage to botch it.

Friday Night Lights has been moved to, surprise, Friday nights. At 10pm. What is this? Ghost Whisperer? I’m not going to complain, since given its pedestrian ratings it was lucky to get renewed at all. But moving it to Friday nights isn’t going to help matters. Even I’m not going to watch it on its original air date, clearly it’s getting moved up to a Saturday afternoon viewing. The silver lining here is being on a weekend night, expectations are diminished. So if it scores on Friday what it was scoring on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, it should be safe. But still, If it lasts the entire second season I would be surprised.

Well, this is a new low. I feel like I say that every week inn the links, but television and the people involed in it always manage to set that bar a little lower. In a couple years, hedonistic rituals are going to be dominating the airwaves.

Yul Kwon, the celebrated winner of Survivor: Cook Islands has been hired as a correspondent for CNN. See, reality contestants, if you approach the shows you appear on with a semblance of decency, you can parlay the appearance into something more tangible.

Scrubs is staring down the barrel of its final season. I’ve never watched the show, at least not regularly. From what I saw it seemed to be geared more towards a female audience. But from what I’ve seen and heard, the show had fallen off a bit.

And finally, Chris Albrecht, The now former president of HBO who oversaw every project the pay cable network is known for, was arrested on charges of battery. The network seems to be in a downward spiral. Even with several new series’ set for debut, with The Sopranos going off the air and now this, it looks like Showtime is surpassing it as the go to network for original programming. They still have one more season of The Wire and Curb Your Enthusiasm left, and there is no indication of Entourage going off the air; but none of these series match The Sopranos in notoriety. It’s going to be an uphill battle come June.