Broadcast Television

“We’ve had a really bad fall” (and decade): On the fatal flaw of NBC’s development strategy and defeatist thinking

Note: This post is a longer (but barely) and hopefully more coherent version of my tweet explosion from Friday night. With the annual winter Television Critics Association Press Tour coming to an end and many of the season’s mid-season premieres here or right around the corner, I wanted to take a little time and talk…… Continue reading “We’ve had a really bad fall” (and decade): On the fatal flaw of NBC’s development strategy and defeatist thinking

Fall Television Network Preview: The CW

If you’re one of my 11 regular readers, you know that I am very interested in exploring the position and meaning of network strategy and branding. I understand that a lot of people are turned off by any sort of in-depth discussion of a television network’s “brand” and how they cultivate it, but it is…… Continue reading Fall Television Network Preview: The CW

Surveillance Summer Watch: Hill Street Blues, “Hill Street Station”

This is the next post in 2011’s Surveillance Summer Watch series featuring Cheers and Hill Street Blues. For the next couple of months, I’ll be writing weekly reviews of episodes from each series’ first seasons, with Cheers on Tuesdays and Hill Street Blues on Thursdays. For more information, see this post. Just a quick house-keeping…… Continue reading Surveillance Summer Watch: Hill Street Blues, “Hill Street Station”

The TVS List: Three broadcast series that need to be canceled

Note: I’m hopefully going to have more time to write things here over the next few months, so I’ll be trying to bring back the weekly list feature. Trying. Anyway, here’s the beginning of that attempt. It’s spring, which means it is the time of year that everyone takes to the internet to stump for…… Continue reading The TVS List: Three broadcast series that need to be canceled

Test Pilot: File #12, The Marriage Ref

Test Pilot #12: The Marriage Ref Debut date: February 28, 2010 Series legacy: One of the worst television series to hit the airwaves in the last few years, a signal that we should all respect Jerry Seinfeld less. Test Pilot is back! It’s a new year, but the historical pilot analysis continues! In case you…… Continue reading Test Pilot: File #12, The Marriage Ref

The waiting game: Watching and writing about today’s television comedy

The following paragraphs might not be full of original criticism or analysis or analysis of criticism. It’s just something I’ve been personally experiencing throughout this television season and I felt like it was time to write it down and hope for the best in terms of clarity and thoughtfulness. This seems moderately timely as well,…… Continue reading The waiting game: Watching and writing about today’s television comedy