Think About It: The TAI Mailbag -- TV Edition!
After months of reruns and summer series, the Television Universe Network Alliance (TUNA) is preparing their new fall season. With that season, and with the months of summer mostly behind us, we here at Think About It Central International Headquarters have been deluged with letters, telegrams and semaphore signals asking questions about what's up at the networks. Well, we certainly can't let our ravenous fans go with their missives unread, can we? Let's see what's been on your mind lately.
Blake,
I know you're a big-time comic book geek, so I wanted to know exactly what you thought of Stan Lee's new "reality" TV show, Who Wants to Be a Superhero? I've been watching it and I'm still not quite sure of what to make of it, except to say that I'm strangely drawn to Tyveculus.
Television Lad.
TL,
I'm glad you asked that! Despite my better judgment I did, in fact, sample Stan's television show. I think it's silly, goofy and full of ridiculous characters. The majority of the "superheroes" present don't have any thought other than a name and a costume (what does Feedback do? What does Major Victory do? At least Monkey Woman has a gimmick.) I think it's a good thing that the vast majority of the television-viewing public will never watch this show, because it could easily set the cause of comic books back another ten years. Oh, and I think last night's episode had the best twist I've ever seen in a reality show and I'm pulling for Fat Momma right now.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Looking at the new fall schedule it looks like NBC has not one, but two TV shows coming up that parody Saturday Night Live. There's Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Tina Fey's 30 Rock. Why do you think the network would schedule two shows with such a similar premise?
Bewildered Bud.
Bud,
You know, that's a good question. Why on Earth would NBC schedule not one, but two shows lampooning a series that hasn't been funny in about ten years, or however long it's been since Phil Hartman left? The answer is obvious. They're all smoking the drugs.
Blake,
Why did the CW network decide to bring back Seventh Heaven, even though the show had a "series finale" on the WB in May?
Fredrico.
Fred,
Drugs.
Hey, man,
Why the heck did the Cartoon Network cancel Justice League Unlimited, while continuing to produce shows like Tom Goes to the Mayor and Moral Oral?
Theodore.
Theo,
Drugs and 'shrooms.
Duder,
I heard about this sitcom called Nobody's Watching that the WB made into a pilot, then decided not to pick up. Somehow, though, the pilot made it on YouTube.com and I watched it -- it wasn't bad. What happened there?
Simon.
Si-Man,
I watched the pilot too -- it actually wasn't bad. The basic premise is that these two guys tell Television that all of their sitcoms suck (that's not entirely fair -- The Office is great) and the WB network decides to put them in a "reality" show about them trying to make a better comedy. So it's a sitcom about a reality show about two guys trying to make a sitcom. It's actually not nearly as complicated as it sounds. The weird thing is, the show became such a hit on YouTube that NBC has picked it up and may well put it on the fall schedule. So basically, the internet has forced the networks to put on a show that they didn't want. I like it any time viewers make the networks do something, because let's face it, they don't know what they're doing most of the time.
Geez!
What possible explanation could there be for Lost not getting nominated for an Emmy this year?
Alvin.
Al,
Drugs, 'shrooms and expired dairy products from the back of the refrigerator.
Blake,
I had just about forgiven Old Navy for their idiotic string of commercials with old sitcom stars singing lousy songs and hanging out with a dog, and what happens? Now they've got a new commercial with girls rapping about how they're gonna get their "Fash On." Have you seen these commercials? Do you advocate violent reprisal?
Miffed Marie.
Marie,
We here at Think About It Central International Headquarters never advocate violence unless the target in question really, really ticked us off. The Old Navy people qualify. The nasty taste from their Brady Bunch ads was finally out of my mouth, and now we've got the rapping tweens. And the lengths to which they're mangling the English language make my ears want to bleed. "Lights, camera, Act-SHUN, we're gonna get our Fash On. Run and tell your Cous-ON that we gonna get our FASH on."
I'm only going to say this once.
FASH.
ISN'T.
EVEN.
A.
WORD.
And when I'm in charge of television, which should be any day now, I will ban the people responsible from ever holding a job that doesn't require a paper hat again.
Blake M. Petit also can't believe the Sci-Fi channel is showing wrestling. What's wrong with the universe? Contact him with comments, suggestions or the answer to what's wrong with the universe at BlakePT@cox.net or visit the Evertime Realms LiveJournal,
blakemp.