This has become a TV habit: The regular shows debut in the fall; the special ones -- fresh, odd, distinctive -- arrive in mid-season, when people are paying more attention.
We'll see signs of that this week, from Fox. The second "Alcatraz" is tonight (Monday, Jan. 23), a "Touch" sneak preview is Wednesday; in between, the season's second "Justified" is on cable's FX.
What did I think of the "X Factor" debut? I sort of liked it; of course, I also liked it when it was called "American Idol."
If there were anti-cloning laws in Hollywood, this show would face capital punishment. It's mostly "Idol" with a few "America's Got Talent" touches added for, well, originality.
What did I think of the "X Factor" debut? I sort of liked it; of course, I also liked it when it was called "American Idol."
If there were anti-cloning laws in Hollywood, this show would face capital punishment. It's mostly "Idol" with a few "America's Got Talent" touches added for, well, originality.
This is a busy time, as TV people meet with the Television Critics Association. Here's the story I sent to papers about Fox; previous blogs look at other networks, with ABC still coming:
By MIKE HUGHES
Nestled at the top of the Nielsen
ratings, with two mega-shows debuting next month, the Fox network
probably should be problem-free now.
ADDED NOTE TO THE BLOG BELOW: I just finished watching the "Fringe" that will air tonight (9 p.m. Friday, March 25) and it's extremely good. Please read the blog below and see the hour; sometimes, good things have to good TV shows.
Now the previous blog:
This has been a whip-saw week for fans of well-made TV.
Just how long is a moment, anyway?
At one point, the Fox Super Bowl pre-game show said we were "a few moments from kick-off." We were 45 minutes away.
I'm not complaining overall, of course. Anything that concludes with the Packers winning the Super Bowl is good.
I had a bunch of comments in the previous blog. A few more:
1) Overall, Fox did a good job. In particular, Troy Aikman is a first-rate analyst.
I really do think Alan Jackson was telling the truth when he sang: "No such thing as too much fun."
Still, we get pretty close to it sometimes. Right now, TV almost has too much of everything.
Too many new shows? At least, too many on the same night. I'm actually sending papers four stories with Monday time factors. That's when two things debut (American Country Awards on Fox, "Big Cat Week" on Nat Geo Wild) and two return ("Sing-Off" on NBC, "Men of a Certain Age" on TNT).
The Fox network started by cleverly going where the others weren't. At various points, it tried all the things the big networks had abandoned. Some failed (there are, at times, good reasons for abandoment) and some succeeded splendidly; Fox revived primetime cartoons ("Simpsons"), variety shows ("In Living Color"), sci-fi ("X-Files") and amateur competitions ("American Idol").
By the end of today's presentation for advertisers, Fox had filled the stage with a golden-robed choir and the cast of "Glee."
