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Posts tagged as “Lost”

World-change is the new black

Looks like the current crisis is giving some execs development ideas.
2009 will be all around world-changing and/or cataclysmic events. In movies (with a lot of remakes/adaptations such as TDTESS, Blindness, World War Z) and especially on TV.
Indeed, in the last few days 3 new shows have been ordered and they seem to be quite timely, to say the least.

First up, The Return, by Greg Berlanti (creator of Everwood and Eli Stone) and René Echevarria (creator of The 4400), which, as the name may or may not imply, will delve into the “return” of aliens on Earth and the effects it has on the world.

Second, we have Flash Forward. No, this is not a Lost spin-off, although it will most likely be televised right after the Island-show. David S. Goyer (writer of the Blade trilogy as well as Batman Begins and TDK’s story) and Brannon Braga (creator of Star Trek Enterprise) co-wrote the script based on Robert J. Sawyer’s novel. The show will tell the story of the world blacking out for two minutes as they are collectively having a horrifying vision of what is coming in 20 years (Paris Hilton President?) due to scientific experiments gone terribly wrong. Braga and Goyer tried to take the show to HBO, which liked the concept but passed on it. Then there was this bidding war between ABC and FOX where the former won.

Last but not least we have Americatown. And guess what, the show will revolve around the exodus of the American populace around the world 20-25 years from now when a terrible financial crisis plunges the U.S. into decline. The writer behind this is Bradford Winters with lots of big names behind, like Tom Fontana, Barry Levinson, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.

Two other TV news:

Huge congrats to Jane for finally getting her own show (picked up last week – 11 hours including the 2h pilot – for a July premiere)!


There’s also a set date for “The U.S. of Tara” premiere: Jan. 18.
Mark your calendars.

I, for one, am looking forward to next year’s shows.

Nine ideas to save Television – Part One

Nine ideas to save Television – Part One

The Big Five (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, The CW) are in mortal danger.
TiVo, YouTube, Cable, Illegal Downloading and the Interweb are among the many threats against the networks’ current existence.
Their future might be unknown, but here are 9 ideas for them to catch up with today’s world and slow down the television crisis.

The first four ideas are coming up right now:

1. Shows all year long
Summer equals reality shows, network season is from September to May, and no one is watching TV on Christmas Eve.
True, but also false.
The web of scripted television is growing more and more each year. It first began on a “diversity” level. 3 networks became 4 and then 5 and then basic and premium cable changed the way TV was made, and viewed.
Now, cable has allowed another change to take place. A change in the season schedule. Or rather, seasons.
Summer reruns are (almost) a thing of the past. Make way for all-new summer episodes on every major cable network. From SciFi to AMC, USA or Lifetime, everyone is breaking boundaries where there is no need for them.
Even the main networks are now following the trend.
FOX is pushing its fall shows a month ahead of the competition, almost putting them during the summer. Last year, NBC wanted to be there at Christmas with The Office and Heroes. CBS has Flashpoint and next year NBC will have The Listener. And some mid-season shows are premiering around March instead of January.
Everyone can watch everything everywhere whenever. Seasons are obsolete.
And this brings us to…

2. VOD
Illegal downloading has been around for a while now and somewhat of a solution has been found.
Meet Video On Demand.
First ABC, now NBC, FOX, CBS, The CW and even Showtime. You name your network, you’ll have your online download/streaming service. And there’s also this little thing called Hulu.
ABC.com’s player (launched in 2006) attracted over 9 millions users last April.
DVDs will soon become a thing of the past, and so will Blu-Ray, real fast.
The future of distribution is online, and it is immaterial.
Missed an episode?
You can go to the network’s site, go to iTunes, go on HBO/Sho On Demand, or go to your friend’s house. You know, the one with TiVo.
There’s also Veoh, which has made a deal with ABC.
There’s money to be made (and is made) on the Internet. Ads are the only way we can get things for free.
Speaking of money…

3. Fewer ads
Ever felt the urge during your TV watching to switch channels?
Yeah, that’s what ads are for.
One of the many reasons people are looking towards other means of watching TV rather than actually watching it is because of the 17 minutes of ads per hour.
Fewer ads during a TV show means less channel-switching and viewers will stay on the channel. That’s damage control for you.
Fox is actively thinking about it with Fringe and Dollhouse which have about 55 minutes of actual content with minute-long commercial breaks.
Less ad also helps the creative process by giving a show space to expand rather than artificially cutting it in 6 little pieces.
Is less more?

4. Shorter seasons
The strike may have had other positive unforeseen side-effects.
Remember Dirty Sexy Money? Probably not, because it only had 13 episodes last season.
But that’s okay.
Less is definitely more when it comes to shows like Lost. A radically shorter season definitely helped the show to condense its mythology and get on with the answers instead of waiting around for 5 other episodes.
It might not be that good for the Big Five in terms of cash but in a qualitative way, it’s certainly a game-changer.

Now, combine shorter seasons with 55-minute long shows around the year available for free whenever wherever on VOD.
Boom.
Welcome to the new world, Networks.

More (crazy) ideas tomorrow!

America needs a prune (Emmys 2008)


Probably the best line of the night next to Piven’s diss of the opening.

I like Survivor but man did that Emmy hosting suck.
Even Probst was bad, and he was the one to win the Emmy.

When you precede Tinay Fey/Amy Poehler and follow Ricky Gervais/Steve Carell, it’s time to GTFO ASAP.

I would love to be in the office of the Emmy guy on the day he decided who was going to host the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Maybe they wanted to avoid waves and anything politically incorrect.

I guess that’s why thoses bastards decided to cut Kirk Ellis when he was talking about the Founding Fathers!


Yeah, let’s show some respect to the writers who make the medium what it is by minimizing to the extreme their speeches (Ellis was told to “wrap it up” just as was getting on stage!).

I also find ironic that for a show that celebrates TV and coming on the heels of a writers’ strike, they chose five reality hosts for the Emmys.
Nice touch.

Regarding the actual results, I’m really happy for Brian Cranston and Breaking Bad, great show, great actor.
Happy also for Ivaneck, the guy deserves to finally win!
I like a lot Mad Men but I still feel as though it is over-hyped, especially considering the other shows nominated (except Boston Legal).
And Tina Fey still rocks.

It’s also interesting to note the downfall of the networks (and HBO). 10 wins for HBO (long is gone the 3-digit), 4 for NBC, 3 for AMC (!) and ABC, 2 for FX (!) and CBS as well as Comedy Central, and finally 1 little Emmy for FOX and PBS.

And how weird was that Forrest Gump/Punchline reunion?