Issue Date: 12/5/05
Coming clean on TV sweeps
By Pamela Sitt
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
- Page 1 of 1
There's no time like the holidays for overindulgence.
By the end of the November sweeps ratings drive last week, Seattle Times TV critic Kay McFadden and TV Addict columnist Pamela Sitt had logged more than 200 hours of set-sitting. Their quest was to find the plums in a pudding of older shows.
In the spirit of the season, let the bickering begin.
Kay: I've got bad news for you, Pam. It's time to call the emperor's new clothes on "Lost."
Pam: Premature! I confess I actually teared up when Bernard and Rose and Jin and Sun reunited-and-it-feels-so-good. And by "teared up" I mean "cried my eyes out." Embarrassing.
Kay: C'mon - Kate sees horses? Walt on the computer? These are Gilligan dodges. That's why time-slot rival "Criminal Minds" is creeping up in ratings. "Lost" needs a crossover with "Survivor" so Stephenie can kick sense into those sorry castoffs.
Pam: Yeah! I wanna see a "Girlfight" between Stephenie and Michelle Rodriguez. But Kay, I thought you would love it when Black Beauty showed up on the island because you love horses. Tell me your theory on J.J. Abrams again.
Kay: As sure as death and monorail taxes, his shows fall apart halfway through Season 2: "Felicity," "Alias," now "Lost." He pulls us in with great emotion and atmosphere, but the plotting collapses. You can't substitute a wishbone for a backbone.
Pam: I haven't given up on "Lost," but I am anti-Tailies. I'm still invested in the original characters. Ana-Lucia & Co. just dilute the premise. I'm having a flashback myself ... to the sophomore season of "The O.C."
Kay: For a show with great balance between story and character, I'll take "NCIS." An average crime-solver has developed the zippiest ensemble chemistry on TV. Ya gotta love the oddball mix of David McCallum's scientist and Pauley Perrette's forensic Goth girl.
Pam: You know I don't watch shows with initials in the title. Which reminds me of a line from the show that gets my vote for Best Crime-Solving and Zippiest Ensemble Chemistry, "Veronica Mars": "Chicks dig acronyms and scarves."
Kay: I wanted to be "Veronica Mars" in high school. I love how actress Kristen Bell conveys that suppressed feeling beneath a smartass exterior. Just proves TV can't coast on high passion alone, even though it's a prevailing trend from "The O.C." to Anderson Cooper's hurricane coverage.
Pam: Speaking of disasters, can we discuss how "Desperate Housewives" is still a top-ranked show even though everyone I know agrees that it totally sucks this season? Can I say "totally sucks" in the newspaper?
Kay: To paraphrase Browning, let us count the woes:
1. Multiple dead-ended story lines.
2. Satire dissolved into pure soap.
3. A very high-concept approach that's hard to sustain.
But I'll wait on "totally" until creator Marc Cherry returns full-time.
Pam: I have a really short attention span, but even I can't keep up with the lightning-speed of the story lines. Gaby's pregnant! Gaby had a miscarriage! Gaby is picking a fight with a "hot nun" who looks like a man! I still watch, but mostly just to pass time until "Grey's Anatomy."
Kay: Here's a mea culpa for "Grey's Anatomy," which I didn't realize was a sex romp - perhaps because it's set in Seattle. Now, I can't wait for the episode where a patient dies because perhaps one of the interns hasn't finished being fibrillated.
Pam: Touche! If they made T-shirts, would you buy "Team Addison" or "Team Meredith"?
Kay: Addison's a redhead; TV needs the suspense we provide. It's even enough to float "CSI: Miami," whose crossover with "CSI: New York" was a hit. I don't know why, though it sure beats the robotic and expository "Law & Order" franchise.
Pam: ... Sorry, my brain shut down when you said "CSI." I'm not into crime procedurals or hospital shows or anything where they say words I don't understand really fast. I even stopped watching "House."
Kay: Let me catch you up: "House" is taking a gamble by emphasizing the tender insides of the main character. That could disappoint those who thrilled to his loathing of people. On the plus side, the supporting cast now have story lines.
Pam: Cranky genius is much more fun to watch. Or quirky genius - i.e. the entire cast of "Arrested Development." Are we in mourning yet?
Kay: No official ax but lots of pre-emptions. Fox gave the brilliant "Arrested Development" a fair shot at 8 p.m. ET Mondays, and it hasn't drawn a decent audience. Speaking of shows exiting network TV, I bet you're dying to discuss "Monday Night Football" and "7th Heaven."
Pam: Right, because those are my two favorite things to watch on Monday nights: football and families with billions of kids.
Kay: Mondays bring up "Medium," another example of a show that's all about feelings, wo-wo-wo. I suspect female viewers like the idea of this mom-wife-mystic barely keeping it together. It's the anti-"Housewives."
Pam: My only point of reference for "Medium" is Patricia Arquette's really bad hairdo when she accepted her Emmy. On the plus side, at least she's not Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Kay: No "Ghost Whisperer" - we're sticking to returning series. So let me say, apropos of nothing, that "West Wing" is the No. 1 rebound show of the season. It isn't Aaron Sorkin's blabby baby anymore, but Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits sure make it talk.
Pam: Is Aaron Sorkin to "West Wing" what Amy Sherman-Palladino is to "Gilmore Girls"? Because I heard she's leaving the show next season to do a pilot. Blabby Baby: Understatement.
Kay: Sorkin's not as vital after all. But if "West Wing" dies, charge NBC with manslaughter. It super-hyped the live debate episode and then took "West Wing" off for three weeks for crap like "The Poseidon Adventure." Then there's the awful "Joey," which NBC just demoted from Thursday nights. A wasted use of a popular star.
Where was I? Oh, I haven't watched "Gilmore" with a straight face since "MADtv's" vicious "Gabmore Girls" parody.
Pam: I'm still a diehard fan, but Luke suddenly having a daughter concerns me. And not just because I'm easily startled by children.
Kay: You're right to worry about Palladino leaving. It's a classic problem for show creators: They hit it big, get offers to do other stuff and the original show suffers. Which brings us to Exhibit A: David E. Kelley, who's had up to four series on TV at the same time.
Pam: Ooh, David E. Kelley. I admit to not only being a fan of "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice," but I even watched the short-lived "Girls Club" for a minute. So now I get my fix from "Boston Legal," which has calmed down the crazy and settled in nicely in Season 2. I love the addition of Candice Bergen to the cast, and my schoolgirl crush on James Spader remains unrequited.
Kay: Eew. Have you actually watched "Sex, Lies and Videotape?"
Pam: Hello, I was talking about "Pretty in Pink." And now we're going off topic.
Kay: We're also running out of space, so I'll make my case for the best drama on TV right now: "Without A Trace." It's got interesting stories that often take unexpected turns, a profound sense of humanity and a fantastic group of actors that know how to lay back. They're utterly real.
Pam: I heard the FBI guys on that show are hot. And on that note, we'll leave you with visions of Eric Close and Enrique Murciano dancing in your heads.
TV Addict is a weekly roundup of television news and gossip, along with recaps of a constantly shifting lineup of (mostly) reality TV shows by Pamela Sitt, pop culture writer for The Seattle Times. Contact Sitt at psitt@seattletimes.com
By the end of the November sweeps ratings drive last week, Seattle Times TV critic Kay McFadden and TV Addict columnist Pamela Sitt had logged more than 200 hours of set-sitting. Their quest was to find the plums in a pudding of older shows.
In the spirit of the season, let the bickering begin.
Kay: I've got bad news for you, Pam. It's time to call the emperor's new clothes on "Lost."
Pam: Premature! I confess I actually teared up when Bernard and Rose and Jin and Sun reunited-and-it-feels-so-good. And by "teared up" I mean "cried my eyes out." Embarrassing.
Kay: C'mon - Kate sees horses? Walt on the computer? These are Gilligan dodges. That's why time-slot rival "Criminal Minds" is creeping up in ratings. "Lost" needs a crossover with "Survivor" so Stephenie can kick sense into those sorry castoffs.
Pam: Yeah! I wanna see a "Girlfight" between Stephenie and Michelle Rodriguez. But Kay, I thought you would love it when Black Beauty showed up on the island because you love horses. Tell me your theory on J.J. Abrams again.
Kay: As sure as death and monorail taxes, his shows fall apart halfway through Season 2: "Felicity," "Alias," now "Lost." He pulls us in with great emotion and atmosphere, but the plotting collapses. You can't substitute a wishbone for a backbone.
Pam: I haven't given up on "Lost," but I am anti-Tailies. I'm still invested in the original characters. Ana-Lucia & Co. just dilute the premise. I'm having a flashback myself ... to the sophomore season of "The O.C."
Kay: For a show with great balance between story and character, I'll take "NCIS." An average crime-solver has developed the zippiest ensemble chemistry on TV. Ya gotta love the oddball mix of David McCallum's scientist and Pauley Perrette's forensic Goth girl.
Pam: You know I don't watch shows with initials in the title. Which reminds me of a line from the show that gets my vote for Best Crime-Solving and Zippiest Ensemble Chemistry, "Veronica Mars": "Chicks dig acronyms and scarves."
Kay: I wanted to be "Veronica Mars" in high school. I love how actress Kristen Bell conveys that suppressed feeling beneath a smartass exterior. Just proves TV can't coast on high passion alone, even though it's a prevailing trend from "The O.C." to Anderson Cooper's hurricane coverage.
Pam: Speaking of disasters, can we discuss how "Desperate Housewives" is still a top-ranked show even though everyone I know agrees that it totally sucks this season? Can I say "totally sucks" in the newspaper?
Kay: To paraphrase Browning, let us count the woes:
1. Multiple dead-ended story lines.
2. Satire dissolved into pure soap.
3. A very high-concept approach that's hard to sustain.
But I'll wait on "totally" until creator Marc Cherry returns full-time.
Pam: I have a really short attention span, but even I can't keep up with the lightning-speed of the story lines. Gaby's pregnant! Gaby had a miscarriage! Gaby is picking a fight with a "hot nun" who looks like a man! I still watch, but mostly just to pass time until "Grey's Anatomy."
Kay: Here's a mea culpa for "Grey's Anatomy," which I didn't realize was a sex romp - perhaps because it's set in Seattle. Now, I can't wait for the episode where a patient dies because perhaps one of the interns hasn't finished being fibrillated.
Pam: Touche! If they made T-shirts, would you buy "Team Addison" or "Team Meredith"?
Kay: Addison's a redhead; TV needs the suspense we provide. It's even enough to float "CSI: Miami," whose crossover with "CSI: New York" was a hit. I don't know why, though it sure beats the robotic and expository "Law & Order" franchise.
Pam: ... Sorry, my brain shut down when you said "CSI." I'm not into crime procedurals or hospital shows or anything where they say words I don't understand really fast. I even stopped watching "House."
Kay: Let me catch you up: "House" is taking a gamble by emphasizing the tender insides of the main character. That could disappoint those who thrilled to his loathing of people. On the plus side, the supporting cast now have story lines.
Pam: Cranky genius is much more fun to watch. Or quirky genius - i.e. the entire cast of "Arrested Development." Are we in mourning yet?
Kay: No official ax but lots of pre-emptions. Fox gave the brilliant "Arrested Development" a fair shot at 8 p.m. ET Mondays, and it hasn't drawn a decent audience. Speaking of shows exiting network TV, I bet you're dying to discuss "Monday Night Football" and "7th Heaven."
Pam: Right, because those are my two favorite things to watch on Monday nights: football and families with billions of kids.
Kay: Mondays bring up "Medium," another example of a show that's all about feelings, wo-wo-wo. I suspect female viewers like the idea of this mom-wife-mystic barely keeping it together. It's the anti-"Housewives."
Pam: My only point of reference for "Medium" is Patricia Arquette's really bad hairdo when she accepted her Emmy. On the plus side, at least she's not Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Kay: No "Ghost Whisperer" - we're sticking to returning series. So let me say, apropos of nothing, that "West Wing" is the No. 1 rebound show of the season. It isn't Aaron Sorkin's blabby baby anymore, but Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits sure make it talk.
Pam: Is Aaron Sorkin to "West Wing" what Amy Sherman-Palladino is to "Gilmore Girls"? Because I heard she's leaving the show next season to do a pilot. Blabby Baby: Understatement.
Kay: Sorkin's not as vital after all. But if "West Wing" dies, charge NBC with manslaughter. It super-hyped the live debate episode and then took "West Wing" off for three weeks for crap like "The Poseidon Adventure." Then there's the awful "Joey," which NBC just demoted from Thursday nights. A wasted use of a popular star.
Where was I? Oh, I haven't watched "Gilmore" with a straight face since "MADtv's" vicious "Gabmore Girls" parody.
Pam: I'm still a diehard fan, but Luke suddenly having a daughter concerns me. And not just because I'm easily startled by children.
Kay: You're right to worry about Palladino leaving. It's a classic problem for show creators: They hit it big, get offers to do other stuff and the original show suffers. Which brings us to Exhibit A: David E. Kelley, who's had up to four series on TV at the same time.
Pam: Ooh, David E. Kelley. I admit to not only being a fan of "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice," but I even watched the short-lived "Girls Club" for a minute. So now I get my fix from "Boston Legal," which has calmed down the crazy and settled in nicely in Season 2. I love the addition of Candice Bergen to the cast, and my schoolgirl crush on James Spader remains unrequited.
Kay: Eew. Have you actually watched "Sex, Lies and Videotape?"
Pam: Hello, I was talking about "Pretty in Pink." And now we're going off topic.
Kay: We're also running out of space, so I'll make my case for the best drama on TV right now: "Without A Trace." It's got interesting stories that often take unexpected turns, a profound sense of humanity and a fantastic group of actors that know how to lay back. They're utterly real.
Pam: I heard the FBI guys on that show are hot. And on that note, we'll leave you with visions of Eric Close and Enrique Murciano dancing in your heads.
TV Addict is a weekly roundup of television news and gossip, along with recaps of a constantly shifting lineup of (mostly) reality TV shows by Pamela Sitt, pop culture writer for The Seattle Times. Contact Sitt at psitt@seattletimes.com