The longest running television drama is going off the air. The Guiding Light started as a radio show in 1937. It has been on CBS television since 1952. Many soap operas have seen ratings decline over the years. The Guiding Light recently changed its on air look and shot much of the show outdoors on location in New Jersey. This was done in an effort to cut costs, and some cast members have taken pay cuts. CBS currently airs soaps from 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm eastern time. They have been the ratings leader for daytime dramas for years, and many soaps on other networks have disappeared. NBC only has one soap left, Days of our Lives. The other daytime hours need to be filled by local affiliates. CBS is looking for a lower cost alternative to air in the time slot, which is 3 pm to 4 pm eastern time. The final episode will air on September 18, 2009. The producers say they may try to resurrect the show by airing it on a different network, perhaps on cable.
*Some information from msn.com and en.wikipedia.org
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
"The Wrestler" is a Triumphant Comeback for Mickey Rourke
Sometimes life imitates art. Sometimes art imitates life. Like his character in the film The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke has had a life filled with ups and downs, with career highlights happening in the 1980s. Rourke was Hollywood's leading man with such films as Diner, 9 and a Half Weeks and Rumble Fish. He then got a reputation of being hard to work with and he had challenges with substance abuse. He tried earning a living as a boxer in the early 1990s but had limited success and returned to acting. He had a semi-comeback a couple years ago with Sin City, but The Wrestler has critics hailing him like he has not experienced in a long time, and the film is accumulating many awards and nominations.
The Wrestler is about Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a man who packed arenas in the 1980s but whose career has slowed significantly as he has aged. He still wrestles in small venues but he needs to supplement his income by working in a grocery store. He lives a sad and lonely life in a trailer, when he can afford the rent. One scene has him spending the night in his van since he has been locked out of his home by his landlord. Bruce Springsteen did a song for this film. After watching it I thought of Springsteen's hit from the 1980s-Glory Days, which could easily have been a theme song for this work. The Wrestler is a sad movie that is about past victories, past mistakes, growing old, and the search for happiness in a world which can be cruel. "The Ram" has not been a good father and he tries to reconcile with a daughter he hardly knows. He tries to establish a relationship with a stripper at a club he frequents, played by Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, Untamed Heart). She is wounded just like he is and she is reluctant to open up her life to him. The Wrestler is about physical pain and the toll that a career in the ring has on the body. But the emotional pain felt by Rourke, his daughter and Tomei is even more devastating.
This film was directed by Darren Aronofsky, who also did The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream and This Film is Not Yet Rated. It has an approval rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com. It is not a film for everyone. It has some violent, gory, disturbing scenes, but it is still a great work which will win many awards.
Here is a quote from the movie when Randy talks to his fans:
I just want to say to you all tonight I'm very grateful to be here. A lot of people told me that I'd never wrestle again and that's all I do. You know, if you live hard and play hard and you burn the candle at both ends, you pay the price for it. You know in this life you can loose everything you love, everything that loves you. Now I don't hear as good as I used to and I forget stuff and I aint as pretty as I used to be but god damn it I'm still standing here and I'm The Ram. As times goes by, as times goes by, they say "he's washed up", "he's finished" , "he's a loser", "he's all through". You know what? The only one that's going to tell me when I'm through doing my thing is you people here.
Some information from rottentomatoes.com and imdb.com.
The Wrestler is about Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a man who packed arenas in the 1980s but whose career has slowed significantly as he has aged. He still wrestles in small venues but he needs to supplement his income by working in a grocery store. He lives a sad and lonely life in a trailer, when he can afford the rent. One scene has him spending the night in his van since he has been locked out of his home by his landlord. Bruce Springsteen did a song for this film. After watching it I thought of Springsteen's hit from the 1980s-Glory Days, which could easily have been a theme song for this work. The Wrestler is a sad movie that is about past victories, past mistakes, growing old, and the search for happiness in a world which can be cruel. "The Ram" has not been a good father and he tries to reconcile with a daughter he hardly knows. He tries to establish a relationship with a stripper at a club he frequents, played by Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, Untamed Heart). She is wounded just like he is and she is reluctant to open up her life to him. The Wrestler is about physical pain and the toll that a career in the ring has on the body. But the emotional pain felt by Rourke, his daughter and Tomei is even more devastating.
This film was directed by Darren Aronofsky, who also did The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream and This Film is Not Yet Rated. It has an approval rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com. It is not a film for everyone. It has some violent, gory, disturbing scenes, but it is still a great work which will win many awards.
Here is a quote from the movie when Randy talks to his fans:
I just want to say to you all tonight I'm very grateful to be here. A lot of people told me that I'd never wrestle again and that's all I do. You know, if you live hard and play hard and you burn the candle at both ends, you pay the price for it. You know in this life you can loose everything you love, everything that loves you. Now I don't hear as good as I used to and I forget stuff and I aint as pretty as I used to be but god damn it I'm still standing here and I'm The Ram. As times goes by, as times goes by, they say "he's washed up", "he's finished" , "he's a loser", "he's all through". You know what? The only one that's going to tell me when I'm through doing my thing is you people here.
Some information from rottentomatoes.com and imdb.com.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Ron and Fez Show on Sirius/XM
My favorite show on satellite radio is the Ron and Fez show. It is on XM 202 and Sirius 197 from noon to 3 pm weekdays. Ron Bennington and Fez Whatley have worked in Tampa, Florida and Washington, DC before coming to New York City. Ron used to be a stand up comedian and he owned a comedy club in Florida. They have many sidekicks and recurring characters on the show such as producers Earl Douglas and David "East Side Dave" McDonald. The show takes a humourous look at what's going on in the world of sports, entertainment, politics, or anything else that is on their minds. Ron is an outstanding interviewer and he hosts an XM show called Unmasked where he talks with comedians about their influences, their style of comedy, and the like. Fez has an odd view of the world and many phobias which he is not afraid to share with listeners. Fez grew up in Florida, and Ron was raised in Philadelphia where he was childhood friends with "Don Vito" Margera from the show Viva La Bam. Above I posted a photo from week 12 of the battle of the beards between Dave and Fez, with Fez on the left.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Broadcast networks may cut back on programming
NBC has been struggling ratings-wise and they may make fewer hours of prime time available to their affiliates.
Jeff Zucker, president/CEO of NBC Universal, speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, said it was a possibility that NBC might consider trimming prime-time hours--or even a whole night of programming.
"Can we continue to broadcast 22 hours in prime time? Three of our competitors don't," he said during Monday's keynote. "Can we continue to broadcast seven days a week? One of our competitors doesn't."
The competitors he is referring to are My Network, the CW and Fox. My Network does not broadcast on Sundays and all 3 of the aforementioned networks have 2 hours of prime instead of 3. On Sundays, the big 3 networks have 4 hours of primetime. I wonder if we may see a merger of networks in the future. Maybe NBC would merge with CBS, or ABC would merge with Fox? In these tough economic times, merging companies seems to be all the rage. Many cities that used to have 2 newspapers have merged so they have one. The UPN network and WB network merged to form the CW.
NBC has only one soap opera, and that genre has been losing viewers steadily. According to TV Guide, in the past 10 years, daytime soap ratings have fallen as much as 50% for some shows. The top rated soap is CBS' The Young and the Restless and in the past 10 years its ratings have fallen from 7.9 million viewers to 4.9 million. NBC's Days of Our Lives took a steep fall, going from 5.4 million to 2.6 million. Guiding Light on CBS has fallen from 4.5 million to 2.1 million viewers. Longtime soap stars like Susan Lucci and Anthony Geary have had to take pay cuts. NBC fired its most popular soap stars, Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, and the remaining cast has to take a pay cut of 40%.
Jeff Zucker, president/CEO of NBC Universal, speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, said it was a possibility that NBC might consider trimming prime-time hours--or even a whole night of programming.
"Can we continue to broadcast 22 hours in prime time? Three of our competitors don't," he said during Monday's keynote. "Can we continue to broadcast seven days a week? One of our competitors doesn't."
The competitors he is referring to are My Network, the CW and Fox. My Network does not broadcast on Sundays and all 3 of the aforementioned networks have 2 hours of prime instead of 3. On Sundays, the big 3 networks have 4 hours of primetime. I wonder if we may see a merger of networks in the future. Maybe NBC would merge with CBS, or ABC would merge with Fox? In these tough economic times, merging companies seems to be all the rage. Many cities that used to have 2 newspapers have merged so they have one. The UPN network and WB network merged to form the CW.
NBC has only one soap opera, and that genre has been losing viewers steadily. According to TV Guide, in the past 10 years, daytime soap ratings have fallen as much as 50% for some shows. The top rated soap is CBS' The Young and the Restless and in the past 10 years its ratings have fallen from 7.9 million viewers to 4.9 million. NBC's Days of Our Lives took a steep fall, going from 5.4 million to 2.6 million. Guiding Light on CBS has fallen from 4.5 million to 2.1 million viewers. Longtime soap stars like Susan Lucci and Anthony Geary have had to take pay cuts. NBC fired its most popular soap stars, Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, and the remaining cast has to take a pay cut of 40%.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Leno will stay at NBC
People have been wondering what will happen next year when Jay Leno leaves The Tonight Show. Conan O'Brien will move to 11:35 pm to follow in the footsteps of Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar and Steve Allen. Former SNL star Jimmy Fallon will take over the 12:35 am slot on NBC, which was previously occupied by Conan O'Brien, who replaced David Letterman in 1993. The associated press, The New York Times and msn.com are reporting that Leno will stay with NBC to host a show which will air at 10 pm weeknights. There were rumors about Leno pursuing a late night deal with ABC, or Fox, or a syndicated show. This will be a cost saving measure for the peacock network since talk shows are cheaper to produce than the dramas that often air in the 10 pm time slot. Leno will be able to reach a larger audience at 10 pm as opposed to 11:35 pm. NBC has been struggling compared to the other broadcast networks in terms of ratings. CBS is number one, largely due to their popular crime dramas such as their 3 versions of CSI, Without a Trace, Cold Case, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and the like. Fox has American Idol to bring in the big numbers, and ABC has Dancing with the Stars. The last episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be May 29, and Conan's first episode will be June 1. I am looking forward to it, and I think that Conan will have more success than Leno since he is funnier and better at interviews. Also, Conan is not someone who "plays it safe" as Leno does. I have never been impressed with Leno's watered down style of comedy, and I'd like to see someone with more of an edge at the helm of that show.
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