Telly ramblings

[caz963]

I said I was going to write this when I was feeling more awake, but I lied. There's stuff on my mind, so I thought I'd get it written down before I forgot it.
Not that it's important or earth-shattering, you understand - I just wanted to say it.



It comes as a surprise to nobody... the death knell for Studio 60 sounded a long time ago, but given that the sets have been struck and Brad has been talking once more about shaking his famed Etch-a-Sketch (seriously, I'm thinking of sending him one!) NBC must surely be going to make it official sometime soon.

I watch very little TV these days anyway, none of it what I'd call "must see". S60 hasn't aired over here yet, but I'm thinking it might take Ugly Betty's Friday night slot on C4, because that's got about another six weeks to run; that'll take us into late June/early July, which is when I think C4 said they'd be airing it.

I know there are people on my f-list who didn't like or couldn't get into S60 for various reasons. We can't all like the same things, and there's no reason why we should. But I liked it. It took a while to find it's way, yes, and there were still things that were wrong with it (*cough* pregnantleadinglady *cough*) - but I was willing to give it a chance, because when it worked, it really worked. It had potential, and I'm sad that it's not being given the chance to grow. I understand the commercial pressures and reasons for what's happened. I worked in the entertainment industry (albeit a different division of it) - supposedly a more "artistic" arm of it, but even that's all about money in the end. It all is. And that's the way it is. But knowing all that doesn't stop me from being pissed and sad that it's not coming back.

That nice article in The Times last weekend confirmed my long-held suspicion that the show would probably be better received outside the US. I seem to recall that WW was always held in high esteem here, even when it wasn't getting such a good reaction in the US. Don't know why - maybe it's because we're a bit further away from it all over here and distance gives us a clearer view.

We've always been pretty dependent on US imports over here, TV scheduling wise, but I think that over the past ten years or so, that's become even more the case. Of course, my take on it is undoubtedly skewed by my own viewing preferences - I don't watch the big soaps, I don't watch quiz or game shows, I'm not a fan of "homey Sunday night drama". We don’t produce 22 episode seasons over here (apart from a couple of medical dramas) – our most successful recent drama series, Life on Mars ran for two seasons of eight episodes each, The Office was almost the same (two seasons of six, plus a couple of specials) – and there’s been very little else home-grown that’s grabbed my attention. I love Doctor Who, but if for some strange reason, it got canned tomorrow, it wouldn’t bother me.

I loved Six Feet Under (although I still need to catch up with the final season), NYPD Blue was great, and I watched it all until C4 started pissing about with the scheduling big time, so I don't think I've seen the last three seasons. I watched the first two seasons of Without a Trace, which I enjoyed, but due to work stuff last year, I couldn't keep up. My point being that I watch very little UK produced stuff (very unpatriotic of me!), so I look towards the US for decent telly. From snippets I've read here and elsewhere, there seems to be little to get worked up about for the forthcoming season. I hope I'm wrong, because I could really do with a new show to get excited about.

coloneljack said it right earlier when she said it felt weird to find herself without a fandom for the first time in eight years.
I can't say that, because I didn't even know there was such a thing as fandom until two or three years ago, but I do know how she feels. I was trying to remember if I'd ever been as invested in a TV show before West Wing came along, and I really don't think I was. The only show I can remember having even half as much interest in was Babylon 5 (anyone remember that?) which was a great show that suffered from being pissed about by its network, meaning that the fifth and final season was a bit of a botch-job. But it had vision, and, a little like WW, was written in almost its entirety by one person.

We've had some very good UK-made dramas that I've enjoyed a lot - a few years back, Paul Abbott's State of Play was wonderful for example, and I've already mentioned Life on Mars and Doctor Who.
I watch CSI, DH, House, Ugly Betty... but I'd miss none of them if they disappeared from the schedule.


It's been nearly a year since WW ended. And there's still nothing - for me - that fills the void it's left behind. It's stupid, and I'm a total saddo, I know. It pisses me off that I feel that way, because I'm old enough to know better. But there it is.

*sniff*

Comments

[coloneljack.livejournal.com]

It's been nearly a year since WW ended. And there's still nothing - for me - that fills the void it's left behind. It's stupid, and I'm a total saddo, I know. It pisses me off that I feel that way, because I'm old enough to know better. But there it is.

Yes. Exactly.

AS you know i was heavily into a fandom before WW, but in the end that became a painful joke thanks to wanky ptb... so WW was just a breath of fresh air. Plus, WW was good :D

I miss it. I miss Brad. I want him to go win an oscar, or another Emmy, i'm not fussy. TO shake that damn etch a sketch fast and do something new.

[hooloovoo_42]

I couldn't have put it better myself. Back in the day, B5 was my must see television and then I was hooked on BTVS, but I'd never heard of fandoms. I agree that now there's not a great deal I'd cry over if it wasn't there, but if anyone threatened to take away my WW DVDs, I'd be more than a tad miffed.

[crossmymind.livejournal.com]

Sigh. That's really all I can do anymore.

I realize I'm just anonymous

[(Anonymous)]

But as a fellow wingnut and J/D lover who found your site through your wonderful fic (thank you so much, BTW, please do check out the US Office. It's been given short shrift over here time slot wise and it doesn't have the sheer brilliance of the original, but once you get past the terribly derivative pilot, it's really a great program and one of the few things worth watching on television. And the central couple have chemistry that rivals Josh and Donna's.

[cantbesilent.livejournal.com]

Nothing could ever be the WW. And we all know that. And even though my TV plate is pretty full these days (and at one point during WW season six WW was pretty much the only show I watched) I still miss West Wing.

I highly recommend House. Not as a West Wing substitute or anything, cause its obviously a totally different kind of show. But it has great (if insane) plots and hillariously quotable dialogue, and its pretty easy to jump right in. The US Office is great. I haven't seen The British version, so I don't know how it compares, but its got great characters and a really sharp sense of humor. I got into it right after WW went off the air.

I still really miss West Wing. I've got Lost, House, and Office to obsess over, but I still miss it. Cause there's nothing else like it (but thats okay!)

[irish-tv.livejournal.com]

We're on episode 14 of Studio 60 (The Harriet Dinner part 2 will be shown Monday). Its broadcast on TV3 ( http://www.tv3.ie ) .

I often find it bizarre that Irish channels get the US imports before the UK. CH4 have to have more money than TV3, I wonder why they've waited so long to show it.

I remember during one season of the West Wing that Ireland was a full season ahead of CH4.

I guess the UK produces alot more tv than Ireland so we have more space on our schedules to fill.

[kathyh]

Of course, my take on it is undoubtedly skewed by my own viewing preferences - I don't watch the big soaps, I don't watch quiz or game shows, I'm not a fan of "homey Sunday night drama".

Yes, yes, yes. With the honourable exceptions of Dr Who and Life on Mars hubby and I are almost entirely dependent on US TV for are viewing fixes.

I was trying to remember if I'd ever been as invested in a TV show before West Wing came along, and I really don't think I was.

I'm probably what ought to be called a serial fan girl (or crone in my case) so I have been invested before and probably will be again but I know that once your series is gone it leaves a huge hole. Sometimes the obsessive love will strike again when you least expect it and sometimes it doesn't for years.

It's been nearly a year since WW ended. And there's still nothing - for me - that fills the void it's left behind.

It hurts doesn't it. Rewatching WW is hugely enjoyable, though at the moment I'm trying to summon up the courage to go post-Gaza, but nothing beats a first run series and the excitement that it generates. A friend of mine is very into Heroes and I do enjoy that but it doesn't have anything like the gravitas and the sheer humanity of WW at its best. It's a series that's going to be very hard to beat for a long time.

BTW we have very similar tastes in TV because we loved Babylon 5 too :)

[kassandra-w.livejournal.com]

I will always be thankful to NBC for giving me *my* West Wing for seven glorious years but the idiotic way they treated Studio 60...... *sigh*

[truecat.livejournal.com]

Have u seen the bio for the next Studio 60?

The Disaster Show: 05.24.07

Allison Janney guest hosts when a strike makes everything go haywire!

I can't wait, now I just have to figure out how Im gonna watch the damn thing. Trust NBC to FINALLY put new eps on when Just get back to Australia! Hateful

[flippet.livejournal.com]

and Brad has been talking once more about shaking his famed Etch-a-Sketch

Really? Where? Have I missed some recent interviews or something?

it felt weird to find herself without a fandom for the first time in eight years.

Nine years for me...Sports Night was my first love. And that heartbreak still hurts the most, really. I don't think I was this strongly into a show (or shows) since I was a kid, and I adored Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and MacGyver. This is even stronger, really, since the internet.

It's been nearly a year since WW ended. And there's still nothing - for me - that fills the void it's left behind.

Me, too. I do love The Office (US...still need to see the UK version), and I will say that The Riches (with the can't-say-enough-good-or-AD-things-about Eddie Izzard) is doing a bang-up job of trying to fill the WW void, but I simply have no must-see-TV anymore. And, since I can find most things online these days, I find that I just don't turn the telly on anymore.


But, you know...it's good that there's a number of us who feel the void so keenly--because when we love and miss it so much, we'll still want to 'live there' again from time to time...and that keeps us writing and reading fic, and making icons, and generally keeping the love alive. It's not a bad thing at all.

[kayla7509.livejournal.com]

FYI - I was watching Stirred last weekend, and at one point Hoynes mentions that the Etch-a-Sketch will be shaken up a bit after the Republican primaries. Makes you wonder who steals from whom - Brad or Aaron!!

Anyway, I agree about the state of television. There are a few shows I will watch if I have time, but nothing that captures me like The West Wing or Studio 60. You should give the The Office (US) a shot, though. It certainly as bears a resemblance to the UK version, but it really has become it's own animal. It's worth it for the tertiary characters alone!

[bingblot.livejournal.com]

It's been nearly a year since WW ended. And there's still nothing - for me - that fills the void it's left behind.

Me too!! Oh, me too. I miss WW so much!!!