Comments on: The Comeback: something more like life

By: T.R.

T.R. — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 22:48:30 +0000

This is by far the worst show on HBO. It is ridiculously stupid and boring and Lisa Kudrow’s voice is annoying as hell. I’d rather watch a real reality show, even Bobby Brown, than a tv show made into a fake reality show.

By: Grant

Grant — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:54:21 +0000

Tom, thanks! Grant

By: Tom Guarriello

Tom Guarriello — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:47:13 +0000

“Fastener?” Just thought, “hit the nail on the head” was so, well, 20th century.

By: Grant

Grant — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 08:36:49 +0000

Matt, thanks for that very useful reminder of the economic conditions of their creativity! Best, Grant

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:08:49 +0000

There’s a lot to be said also for the freedom that HBO’s business model implies. The broadcast networks have to lease their viewers’ eyeballs to advertisers, so by and large they’ve tried to avoid ever giving offense or making anybody uncomfortable, for fear that somebody might remember that the TV has an “off” button. HBO doesn’t have advertisers. They don’t care about your eyeballs. As long as there’s _something_ on their channel that you like enough to keep subscribing, they keep getting paid, even if you dislike everything else they air. Which means that they can take a lot more risks.

And since an overwhelmingly disproportionate number of those risks have paid off, they’ve been dragging the networks (kicking and screaming, most of the time) into a less risk-averse posture as well.

By: Grant

Grant — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 20:02:22 +0000

Tom, Thanks! (what’s a fastener?) Best, Grant

Ed, I agree, this improvement comes from competition, not good intentions. A little competition does what an arts council cannot? Until a couple of weeks ago I steered clear of 2.5 men, but then I had a look and found it surprisingly witty. Yes, it plays out an Oscar and Felix, men as dopes, stereotype that I find obnoxious. But it was written with pace. Thanks. Grant

By: Ed Batista

Ed Batista — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 19:08:55 +0000

Anyone who saw Lisa Kudrow in Don Roos’ “The Opposite of Sex” (1998) knows that she’s always been capable of so much more than “Friends” ever asked of her. (The same could be said of Jennifer Aniston–see Miguel Arteta’s “The Good Girl” (2002).)

I agree that the mainstream culture industry is more willing to embrace complexity and nuance than it once was, but I also see that as a reflection of changing market dynamics. Big audiences are a lot smaller than they used to be, so shows and movies are targeted at ever-smaller niches. Because they don’t have to appeal across such a broad demographic gulf, these entertainments can reflect a particular niche’s distinct preferences, be it for emotional subtlety or graphic violence.

And let’s not overstate the case–five of the top 13 shows for the last Nielsen period (June 6-12) were episodes of “Two and a Half Men,” and that’s a pretty old-school sitcom.

By: Tom Guarriello

Tom Guarriello — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 17:47:14 +0000

You’ve smacked the fastener cleanly again, Grant! The Johnson “cognitive complexity” standard for things being “good for you” misses entirely the emotional impact of the pop culture items he tracks. In the old days, the behaviorists used to argue that violent TV taught violence; the psychoanalysts, that it cathexed impulses, kind of bleeding off the pressure, if you will. Nowadays, we map multiple story lines and sound the all clear.