Friday, November 17, 2006

Overnight TV Ratings -- "30 Rock" Tumbles

No time to type it out. Go to MediaWeek's Marc Berman for the complete breakdown. But "My Name Is Earl" remains charming, "The Office" expanded to 45 minutes (w about 4 minutes of extra show and 11 minutes of extra commercials) and "30 Rock" proved it's Must-Flee TV by tumbling more than 50% from "The Office" and hurting "ER" so much that show fell to third at 10 p.m. Plus, I've got a bone to pick with "Ugly Betty" but that'll have to wait till later.

I'm off to see Anthony Minghella's "Breaking and Entering," a Lloyd Cole concert and then, I think, a late-night showing of "Happy Feet." See ya.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just don't get it.

I'll give you this. I have not watched TV regularly in ages. I have not seen a single episode of such critically acclaimed shows such as Ugly Betty or Heroes or Lost. So I am not comparing. But I tuned into 30 Rock on day one because I like Tiny Fey and Alec Baldwin. I laughed. And so did many people that I know.

I continued to watch and the show got funnier. Many people I know thought so, as well. (now is where you comment on the people I hang out with)

This past Thursday's episode was the funniest yet. Absolutely hilarious. My wife and I were rewinding the DVR for 20 minutes after the show ended.

Must everything be a soap opera or (un)reality TV? 30 Rock may not be as charming as "Earl" or as droll as The Office. But you seem happy that it could possibly be part of "must flee TV." It's much better than that.The show is just plain funny. (here is where you say, NO IT'S NOT!)

If such hammy, unfunny, poorly executed TV like "Married With Children," "3rd Rock," and "Murphy Brown" can go down in TV history as comedic classics, 30 Rock deserves at least a season or two. Ann Curry is funnier than Candice Bergen, John Lithgow, and Ed O'Neill.

Just Like Bosom Buddies back in the 80's, and more recently Sports Night, 30 Rock is too smart. And America doesn't like smart.

Let's all eat cow anus for a million bucks, or have a 5th rate comedienne tell us how fat we are. Those shows get renewed. But 30 Rock is dropping faster than Charlie Sheen's pants and it just seems unfair.

Michael in New York said...

This is an item about ratings, of course, not always about a show's quality. In the context of ratings, "30 Rock" had a good chance to prove itself compatible with idea lead-ins and, sadly, failed. I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me to watch "Friday Night Lights" week after week and see it get virtually no press coverage, no critical hosannas and no audience. I've never been a fan of Tina Fey, but I watched the pilot episode and found it shockingly unfunny. But I watched the second episode and found it much improved -- still not "good," but far superior to the pilot and certainly Alec Baldwin was the saving grace. If you say the show is still improving, I'll give it another chance and watch it again. I already watch so much TV, I cna be pretty ruthless in eliminating new shows from my list, especially when I think they're gonna fail commercially. Who wants to commit to a series and then watch it die? Networks think this is only a problem for serialized dramas, as if fans of a sitcom don't mind having a show cancelled after 15 episodes just because there's no particular cliffhangar. As for "The Office," I couldn't bear it at first because I love the British version beyond all reason and thought there was nothing more idiotic than an American remake. What's the point of The Office without Ricky Gervais. But people kept telling me it was funny and I'd dip into it again. I wasn't completely won over but the further along it went the sort of funnier it got. Still not a fan, until priv8Pete insisted I watch the two best episodes from season two. They were indeed funny so come season three, for the first time I've watched the show regularly. I'm always happy to change my mind and there's such a dearth of sitcoms I hope "30 Rock" really is improved, though since unlike The Office I find almost the entire cast unappealing (other than Baldwin) I don't hold out much hope. Married w Children is of course widely considered lowbrow crap, I was never a fan of Murphy Brown (a poor man's Mary Tyler Moore) though I could see it was smarter than your average bear and 3rd Rock (while having a rather distinctively broad acting style worth noting) was never quite my cup of tea either. Bosom Buddies - I'm with you on that one, though I'm curious to see how it holds up since I haven't watched it since it premiered. Sports Night was better than West Wing and A Few Good men and Studio 60 and probably anything else Sorkin will ever do. Basically, I think you're frustrated that people are not enjoying the show you're enjoying and that it could disappear. Certainly, you can take comfort in the fact that critics generally agree with you and that Baldwin's fine turn has generated good press. As a fan of Friday Night Lights and American Dreams and My So-Called Life and Police Squad and countless other shows that were ended prematurely, I feel your pain.

Devid said...

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watch 30 rock online said...

30 Rock is a real comedy show. I also watch 30 rock online. I am so happy that 30 Rock series grab Emmy awards. Its such a awesome moments for such a great comedy show.

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

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