Category: Opinion

Would Anyone Hire Ricardo Montalban Today?

by Herbie J Pilato

ricardo4I recently caught an episode of the classic TV show, The Name of the Game, which originally aired on NBC from 1968 to 1971.  It was one of the more unique programs of its time.  The series was like an anthology show, but it wasn’t.  There were three different main stars:  Robert Stack, Gene Barry and Tony Franciosa, each of whom had their own storyline, but yet all were connected by a Los Angeles publishing company.

The segment that I viewed featured Robert Stack as the editor of this one particular publication that was linked with the main organization.  The same episode also featured the multi-talented Ricardo Montalban in a guest-starring role.

As I’m watching the segment, I’m thinking, “Mmmm…there’s the great Ricardo Montalban, years before he found fame on TV as the mysterious Mr. Roark on ABC’s 70s/80s Saturday night hitFantasy Island; and right around the time he was also guest-starring in his original incarnation as Kahn on the first Star Trek TV episode, ‘Space Seed – decades before he reprised the role for the hit 1982 feature film, Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn.” read article

R.I.P., Soapnet: The Death of the Network Where Every Soap Went to Die

Looks like stay-at-homes don’t need the diversion of soap operas anymore. Not even old ones on cable. Cuz, you know, the interwebs. (Bless ’em.) Here’s the skinny:

soapnet-is-deadby Molly Lambert

Soap operas have been one of television’s hardiest genres since the medium’s inception, adding a visual component to what was already an extremely successful category of radio show. Dependent upon endless cliffhangers and narrative tension drawn out at a snail’s pace, soaps are like a shrub that always thrives no matter what the TV climate trends forecast. So it’s sad to hear about the end of cable network Soapnet, which has been broadcasting soap opera reruns since the year 2000. With a lineup combining nighttime airings of current daytime soaps and reruns of canceled shows, Soapnet filled a niche that ultimately might have proved to be too niche. In recent years the daytime soap opera genre in general began an unprecedentedly steep decline, spurred on by the rise of on demand viewing.

Daytime TV soaps have always relied on the assumption that housewives will want something to watch while they do their daily chores, but there was no accounting for the sudden rise of cable or of sites like Netflix and Hulu that allow viewers to ingest media at their own leisure. Nor was there the expectation that women would fill the workforce, particularly during recession years, and not be at home when their stories came on. Between 2009 and 2012, four long-running soaps hit the slaughterhouse floor: As the World Turns, All My Children, One Life to Live, and Guiding Light. All of these shows had run for decades, with the longest spanning over 50 years. Soapnet, which is owned by Disney (which also owns Grantland), is being shelved in favor of a network for preschoolers, but it might turn out that even preschoolers know how to look up their favorite shows on an iPad. Soon programs airing at exact daily times will be extinct.

LB Sees ABC’s KILLER WOMEN (Well, the 1st episode anyway)

killer-women-tvwriter.comBecause with a name like that how could I not?

Especially since TVWRITER™ buddy Sal Calleros was one of the writers working on the initial order.

I wanted to like this show but knew I wouldn’t. And guess what? My prediction sadly prevailed. Or to put it another way: read article

LB Sees INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

Inside_Llewyn_Davis_Isaac_cat

This turd in a blanket is on so many “Best of” lists that after I saw it I felt compelled to write a review about how empty, soulless, and dispiriting it was. About how a slice of the life of a no-talent, selfish, boring loser is not the same as telling a story. About how all I could think of as I watched was that I was in hell…a Coen brothers hell and not even my own, to boot.

I hated this film and couldn’t wait to publish my hatred so my piece would effect potential audiences the way the heads of beheaded criminals hanging on city walls were designed to yell, “Beware!” to criminal members of medieval populaces. read article

Sherlock and Doctor Who: beware of fans influencing the TV they love

Agree? Disagree? Both?

Doctor Whoby Mark Lawson

Doctor Who and Sherlock are linked by inspiration – Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss write for both – and by impact: the shows were awarded the prime seasonal drama slots on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day respectively. But those special editions also demonstrated another connection between them: these series are significantly redefining the relationship between television programmes and fans.

For most of the history of TV drama, fans have been on the outside looking in. New episodes or series were released by the creators for consumption by the audience, whose only possible effect on the product was to raise or lower the ratings figures that might influence whether a new series was commissioned. More recently, websites and social media have changed beyond recognition the way in which a show is watched, through preview, real-time and review discussion between viewers. But again, this had relatively little impact on the product, apart from recent cases such as Arrested Development and Ripper Street, in which digital petitions won a streamed reprieve for a franchise cancelled by a network. read article