Full Article Text

F R I D AY, A U G U S T 0 4 , 2 0 0 6Bitching About TV CriticsOkay, now I'm just being a nudge, but how can a former editor of TVGuide and the current top TV person at a major paper like Toronto'sGlobe & Mail be so clueless? No two people will ever agree oneverything. So my instinct is to let it slide when an online chat withreaders prompts Andrew Ryan to say something I disagree with. Andyet....First Ryan says he's not certain if the annual TV Critics convention hasany significant impact on a network's long range plans. I'd go out on alimb and just say no. It's merely a big press conference and suresniping over a particular move can prompt a network to reconsidersomething. But the TCA is just one blip in the never-ending cycle ofinfo networks draw upon like ratings and reviews and advertisers andEmmys that influence what they do. Nothing a TV journalist says at theTCA carries any more weight than it would if they were just saying thesame thing from their hometown. But nothing carries less weighteither.Then Ryan says networks are more likely today to copy each other.Really? You mean, like more than the 50s and early 60s when virtually3/4s of prime time was littered with Westerns? You mean more thanthe early 90s when Friends launched a tidal wave of copycats? Every hitever made has inspired imitations from the dawn of TV to today. Thenhe calls "The Wire" (a show he really likes) "harsh, often unpleasant."No great TV is unpleasant -- nothing is more satisfying and enjoyablethan a well-made show. Only BAD shows are harsh and unpleasant.But the final comment that really pushed me over the edge was when afan asked if there was any chance of networks expanding how theydistribute TV shows -- like making more of them available for legaldownload. Ryan, who must be living on Mars, says, "There's not muchchance of that happening, at least not in the near future. The reason:Networks can't control it. Episodes of shows like 24 or Lost are alreadyon the Internet moments after they air, which no doubt infuriatesnetworks."Huh? The fact that shows are available illegally is a major reason whyNext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G . C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Bitching About TV Criticshttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/08/bitching-about-tv-critics...
1 of 37/28/09 9:38 PM
FAV O R I T E L I N K SAmericablogFive O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's BlogThe Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPNRadioCine-Blog -- George Robinson's BlogDocuments On Art & Cinema - DarylChin's BlogBrucie G's Wondrous Blog OfAdventure and Mystery -- BruceGreenspan's BlogB L O G A R C H I V E▼ 2009 (17)▼ July (3)1939 -- The Greatest Year ForMoviesSwimming Bans Those Hi-TechSuits!Best Movies Of The Year -- TheMaster List► June (3)► May (1)► March (2)► February (1)► January (7)► 2008 (86)► 2007 (781)► 2006 (2412)► 2005 (5)C O N T R I B U TO R SBiboyMichael in New YorkAaron POPSURFING.COM: Bitching About TV Criticshttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/08/bitching-about-tv-critics...
2 of 37/28/09 9:38 PM
POPSURFING.COM: Bitching About TV Criticshttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/08/bitching-about-tv-critics...
3 of 37/28/09 9:38 PM