It's that time of the month. I'm on with Walt Bodine today. And this time I mean it. Listen live or revisit this post for a link to the podcast.
Just before that, I'll be calling in to Shari Elliker on WBAL. Podcast of that coming too, if all goes well.
And while you're waiting for all that high-quality audio excitement, you can listen to Paul Harris and me. This was recorded last night, our second weekly Skypecast, in which we covered the usual wide range of topics in our folksy, non-elitist way:
Harris Online TV Barn podcast 4-28-2008
Speaking of elitists, I'm not sure what to make of the CW's big spring push for "Gossip Girl." There was that OMFG campaign to promote the show's return from strike-induced hiatus. Now I see that the show is being featured on the cover of New York Magazine, where the cast is assembled on the cover in a shameless imitation of that famous magazine cover where... well, I think it's a famous magazine cover they're imitating.
Oddly enough, all of this publicity has not exactly whetted my appetite for more stories of overindulged preppies from the Upper East Side, whose moms are NY Mag's target audience. But it has piqued my interest in what ever the hell happened to the CW. And I see I am not alone, judging by the story that appeared last night noting the alarming drop in ratings for the sixth network (yes, I know there was a merger, I'm referring to Univision as the fifth network).
It now appears that all the broadcast networks were impacted by the 14-week writers strike this season, but the CW appears to have been hit harder than most. That makes sense, since most of their old warhorses are their best-known brands, and the network was relying heavily on its rookie shows, including "Gossip Girl," to keep the network viable.
But now that my favorite new CW shows, "Reaper" and "Aliens in America," appear to be doomed, this is what I'm stuck with? A show about the sons and daughters of millionaires engaging in bedroom romps that would have been scandalous a generation ago on TV with grownups?
UPDATE: James Hibberd has 7 ideas for saving the CW. Here's one: "CW needs (an) anything-goes urgency ... During its 1990s growth phase, Fox would beat up a hobo for a ratings point."
UPDATE 2: I'm reminded that the "Green Acres" meets "Bachelor" reality show, "Farmer Wants a Wife," is premiering Wednesday on the CW. Matt Neustadt lives on the other end of the state, and CW is barely a network, but it's not every year we have a made-in-Missouri network show. Paul Harris and I talked about that, too, in our Skypecast.
MORE AUDIO: Tuesdays with Shari.
WBAL - 4/29/2008
