FOX
Beverly Hills 90210
October 15, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the Summer of 1991, FOX showed us what high school students do during summer vacation.
They work.
They party.
They go to summer school.
Beverly Hills 90210 premiered in the Fall of 1990.
During its freshman season, 90210 added value to the youth-oriented programming on FOX. But the show about privileged kids in the country’s most famous zip code did not overwhelm the competition with its counter-programming content.
Enter the summer.
A time when networks traditionally burn off unsold pilots, episodes of unsold shows, and regular programming in reruns for a third broadcast.
But FOX is not a traditional network. And it certainly wasn’t a traditional network in its nascent days.
When FOX started in 1986, it was not airing a full slate of programming, so it legally, logically, and historically could not be called a “television network.”
In any case, FOX saw an opening in the summer schedule.
Airing new episodes of 90210 in the summer would be true counter-programming.
Original episodes against burned off pilots and reruns.
And perfectly logical.
High school students have lives from late June to early September.
90210 reflected that reality.
Summer relationships.
Summer jobs.
Summer vacation.
The six original episodes of 90210 in the Summer of 1991 helped launch the show into the stratosphere.
It helped stretch story lines across multiple episodes, contrary to the self-contained episodic story line format in the first season.
And it helped open up new story lines for the second season.
The programming exercise was successful and FOX repeated it in the Summer of 1992 with six new episodes.
By this time, 90210 was a Goliath.
It also spawned a spinoff in the Summer of 1992 -- Melrose Place.
The CW presently airs revived versions of both shows.
david@davidkrell.com
In the Summer of 1991, FOX showed us what high school students do during summer vacation.
They work.
They party.
They go to summer school.
Beverly Hills 90210 premiered in the Fall of 1990.
During its freshman season, 90210 added value to the youth-oriented programming on FOX. But the show about privileged kids in the country’s most famous zip code did not overwhelm the competition with its counter-programming content.
Enter the summer.
A time when networks traditionally burn off unsold pilots, episodes of unsold shows, and regular programming in reruns for a third broadcast.
But FOX is not a traditional network. And it certainly wasn’t a traditional network in its nascent days.
When FOX started in 1986, it was not airing a full slate of programming, so it legally, logically, and historically could not be called a “television network.”
In any case, FOX saw an opening in the summer schedule.
Airing new episodes of 90210 in the summer would be true counter-programming.
Original episodes against burned off pilots and reruns.
And perfectly logical.
High school students have lives from late June to early September.
90210 reflected that reality.
Summer relationships.
Summer jobs.
Summer vacation.
The six original episodes of 90210 in the Summer of 1991 helped launch the show into the stratosphere.
It helped stretch story lines across multiple episodes, contrary to the self-contained episodic story line format in the first season.
And it helped open up new story lines for the second season.
The programming exercise was successful and FOX repeated it in the Summer of 1992 with six new episodes.
By this time, 90210 was a Goliath.
It also spawned a spinoff in the Summer of 1992 -- Melrose Place.
The CW presently airs revived versions of both shows.
Three Blind Mice
October 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, America’s three television networks changed hands.
ABC to Capital Cities.
NBC to General Electric.
CBS to Loews.
Ken Auletta’s 1991 book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way chronicles the takeovers, trials and travails of the players involved.
In a ratings game dominated by numbers, the 1980’s saw the rise of the Video Cassette Recorder and the increased attention paid to demographics.
Auletta goes through a tremendously detailed approach to bring the reader the thoughts, strategies, and fears of the media moguls in television’s executive suites.
In the chapter NBC: Tartikoff In His Sandbox, 1987, Auletta writes about a favorite son of the television industry -- NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. Auletta zeroes in on the programming wunderkind’s observations of the obstacles for network television.
Nor was Tartikoff sure that with the explosion of buyers -- from cable, Fox, and first-run syndication, among others -- there was sufficient talent to stock a twenty-two hour prime-time schedule. Tartikoff knew that success in network television often came when a producer believed passionately in a project -- be it Norman Lear with All in the Family, James Brooks with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or Steven Bochco with Hill Street Blues. But Tartikoff also knew the network television production system was a sausage factory.
In addition, the Big Three also faced the VCR, an affordable device by the mid-1980’s that allowed viewers to tape shows off the air and watch them at their leisure. No longer viewers tied to air times.
If viewers could shift the viewing times of their favorite shows, they would probably fast forward through the commercials. Consequently, advertisers become unhappy. Networks become worrisome about the prospect of ad dollars decreasing or disappearing.
In a world where viewers are no longer captive, advertisements can lose their impact.
The Big Three faced another challenge in the upstart FOX network. In its nascent days in the mid-1980’s, FOX did not have seven nights of programming each week. It did not have a network news division. And it did not have recognizable stars, save for one.
Its first programming attempt was The Late Show starring Joan Rivers in November 1986 followed by Sunday night programming in Spring 1987.
But it did have sister companies in other areas of media. A movie studio. A publishing house. Newspapers.
This synergy was attractive. And great ideas have to start somewhere. With the edgy sitcom Married With Children, the innovative cartoon show The Simpsons, and the funny sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, FOX began to make pinpricks in the armor of the Big Three. Their invulnerability proved to be a fallacy in the 1990’s when FOX attracted the highly valuable younger demographic of teenagers and twentysomethings with nighttime soap operas -- Beverly Hills 92010 and Melrose Place.
In the chapter ABC: More Sancho Panza Than Machiavelli, September to December, 1986, Auletta summarizes the impact of FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch’s initial foray into network television.
The future also belonged, some feared, to Rupert Murdoch’s scheme to make Fox a fourth network by acquiring stations in six of the top ten markets, lining up affiliated stations, and setting up a programming department, just as the three networks did.
Auletta delves deeply beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter for television networks. Really, it is the heart of the matter for business. Money.
Auletta frequently writes about the costs of contracts and programming. He shows that programs may be part creativity, part talent, and part instinct. But it is part dollars and cents, too.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, America’s three television networks changed hands.
ABC to Capital Cities.
NBC to General Electric.
CBS to Loews.
Ken Auletta’s 1991 book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way chronicles the takeovers, trials and travails of the players involved.
In a ratings game dominated by numbers, the 1980’s saw the rise of the Video Cassette Recorder and the increased attention paid to demographics.
Auletta goes through a tremendously detailed approach to bring the reader the thoughts, strategies, and fears of the media moguls in television’s executive suites.
In the chapter NBC: Tartikoff In His Sandbox, 1987, Auletta writes about a favorite son of the television industry -- NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. Auletta zeroes in on the programming wunderkind’s observations of the obstacles for network television.
Nor was Tartikoff sure that with the explosion of buyers -- from cable, Fox, and first-run syndication, among others -- there was sufficient talent to stock a twenty-two hour prime-time schedule. Tartikoff knew that success in network television often came when a producer believed passionately in a project -- be it Norman Lear with All in the Family, James Brooks with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or Steven Bochco with Hill Street Blues. But Tartikoff also knew the network television production system was a sausage factory.
In addition, the Big Three also faced the VCR, an affordable device by the mid-1980’s that allowed viewers to tape shows off the air and watch them at their leisure. No longer viewers tied to air times.
If viewers could shift the viewing times of their favorite shows, they would probably fast forward through the commercials. Consequently, advertisers become unhappy. Networks become worrisome about the prospect of ad dollars decreasing or disappearing.
In a world where viewers are no longer captive, advertisements can lose their impact.
The Big Three faced another challenge in the upstart FOX network. In its nascent days in the mid-1980’s, FOX did not have seven nights of programming each week. It did not have a network news division. And it did not have recognizable stars, save for one.
Its first programming attempt was The Late Show starring Joan Rivers in November 1986 followed by Sunday night programming in Spring 1987.
But it did have sister companies in other areas of media. A movie studio. A publishing house. Newspapers.
This synergy was attractive. And great ideas have to start somewhere. With the edgy sitcom Married With Children, the innovative cartoon show The Simpsons, and the funny sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, FOX began to make pinpricks in the armor of the Big Three. Their invulnerability proved to be a fallacy in the 1990’s when FOX attracted the highly valuable younger demographic of teenagers and twentysomethings with nighttime soap operas -- Beverly Hills 92010 and Melrose Place.
In the chapter ABC: More Sancho Panza Than Machiavelli, September to December, 1986, Auletta summarizes the impact of FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch’s initial foray into network television.
The future also belonged, some feared, to Rupert Murdoch’s scheme to make Fox a fourth network by acquiring stations in six of the top ten markets, lining up affiliated stations, and setting up a programming department, just as the three networks did.
Auletta delves deeply beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter for television networks. Really, it is the heart of the matter for business. Money.
Auletta frequently writes about the costs of contracts and programming. He shows that programs may be part creativity, part talent, and part instinct. But it is part dollars and cents, too.
The Simpsons
April 11, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The Simpsons began as cartoon shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
Different. Irreverent. Entertaining.
FOX expanded The Simpsons to a half-hour show in 1989.
The Simpsons got so popular that FOX moved America’s favorite dysfunctional family from Sunday to Thursday in 1990.
The rationale for the move: to take on America’s favorite upper middle class family, The Huxtables on The Cosby Show.
In the first episode of the 1990-91 season, Bill Cosby showed true class as Cliff Huxtable. When the Huxtables’ youngest daughter Rudy comes into the room wearing a Bart Simpson mask, Cliff chases her out. It was a tip of the hat to the competition.
Eventually, FOX moved The Simpsons back to Sunday night where it anchors the Sunday lineup.
The Simpsons rivals Saturday Night Live in the area of guest stars. Even just a sample is literally a Who’s Who!
Michelle Pfeiffer, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Kirk Douglas, Donald Sutherland, Albert Brooks, Rodney Dangerfield, Martin Sheen, Danny DeVito, Jay Leno, Joe Namath, Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Ron Howard, Jon Lovitz, and, of course, FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch are just a few examples of the star power on The Simpsons.
Although it is definitely unique, The Simpsons recalls familiar situations.
First, Homer’s get-rich-quick schemes remind us of Ralph Kramden’s and Fred Flintstone’s varied, interesting, and unsuccessful attempts to become instantly wealthy. Must be something about overweight men and faulty financial plans.
Second, Mr. Burns’ management style reminds us of Spacely Sprockets boss Mr. Spacely. Mr. Burns teases, tempts, and lures Homer to work on projects that can only benefit Mr. Burns and potentially hurt Homer.
By comparison, Mr. Spacely offered the “Vice President” job to George Jetson just about every week if George did something for Spacely.
Third, the storylines rely on, poke fun at, and offer new takes on iconic popular culture.
Krusty the Clown’s back story used several elements of The Jazz Singer.
Homer is kidnapped and banished to an island similar to the island on the 1960’s classic, The Prisoner.
And, of course, the episode Who Shot Mr. Burns? paralleled the greatest television mystery of all time -- the 1980 whodunit plot, Who Shot J.R.? on Dallas!
But the uniqueness of The Simpsons shown like a beacon.
First, The Simpsons was the first prime time cartoon program in almost a quarter-century.
Second, The Simpsons flipped the sensibilities of prime time.
Authority figures were lazy, stupid, or foolish.
Wise cracking kids were championed, not lampooned.
Family values were mocked.
Even the first President Bush acknowledged the show’s impact when he said he wanted America to be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons.
Third, The Simpsons was on FOX, a new network that could take a chance with offbeat, irreverent, and potentially groundbreaking programs.
But somewhere along the line, The Simpsons gained sensitivity, warmth, and even a religious aspect.
In the episode Alone Again, Natura-Diddly, Springfield mourns the loss of Maude Flanders. And without his wife, Ned Flanders sees some cracks in his bedrock of religious faith.
He questions God about the wisdom of taking Maude from her family and then stays in bed to avoid his favorite weekly activity – Sunday church service.
But his faith isn’t shaken for long. Ned speeds to the church and gets there just in time to hear a Christian rock singer belt out a tune about finding her faith in God after some rough times.
It’s enough to capture Ned’s attention.
After the service, he tells her about his recent rough times. When she asks Ned if he’d like to grab a cup of coffee, she senses his uneasiness. But she leaves the door open for when she returns from the Monsters of Christian Rock tour.
Ned’s good cheer returns in full when he declares, Maybe we can. My name’s Ned Flanders and I’m here every week, rain or shine!
david@davidkrell.com
The Simpsons began as cartoon shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
Different. Irreverent. Entertaining.
FOX expanded The Simpsons to a half-hour show in 1989.
The Simpsons got so popular that FOX moved America’s favorite dysfunctional family from Sunday to Thursday in 1990.
The rationale for the move: to take on America’s favorite upper middle class family, The Huxtables on The Cosby Show.
In the first episode of the 1990-91 season, Bill Cosby showed true class as Cliff Huxtable. When the Huxtables’ youngest daughter Rudy comes into the room wearing a Bart Simpson mask, Cliff chases her out. It was a tip of the hat to the competition.
Eventually, FOX moved The Simpsons back to Sunday night where it anchors the Sunday lineup.
The Simpsons rivals Saturday Night Live in the area of guest stars. Even just a sample is literally a Who’s Who!
Michelle Pfeiffer, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Kirk Douglas, Donald Sutherland, Albert Brooks, Rodney Dangerfield, Martin Sheen, Danny DeVito, Jay Leno, Joe Namath, Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Ron Howard, Jon Lovitz, and, of course, FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch are just a few examples of the star power on The Simpsons.
Although it is definitely unique, The Simpsons recalls familiar situations.
First, Homer’s get-rich-quick schemes remind us of Ralph Kramden’s and Fred Flintstone’s varied, interesting, and unsuccessful attempts to become instantly wealthy. Must be something about overweight men and faulty financial plans.
Second, Mr. Burns’ management style reminds us of Spacely Sprockets boss Mr. Spacely. Mr. Burns teases, tempts, and lures Homer to work on projects that can only benefit Mr. Burns and potentially hurt Homer.
By comparison, Mr. Spacely offered the “Vice President” job to George Jetson just about every week if George did something for Spacely.
Third, the storylines rely on, poke fun at, and offer new takes on iconic popular culture.
Krusty the Clown’s back story used several elements of The Jazz Singer.
Homer is kidnapped and banished to an island similar to the island on the 1960’s classic, The Prisoner.
And, of course, the episode Who Shot Mr. Burns? paralleled the greatest television mystery of all time -- the 1980 whodunit plot, Who Shot J.R.? on Dallas!
But the uniqueness of The Simpsons shown like a beacon.
First, The Simpsons was the first prime time cartoon program in almost a quarter-century.
Second, The Simpsons flipped the sensibilities of prime time.
Authority figures were lazy, stupid, or foolish.
Wise cracking kids were championed, not lampooned.
Family values were mocked.
Even the first President Bush acknowledged the show’s impact when he said he wanted America to be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons.
Third, The Simpsons was on FOX, a new network that could take a chance with offbeat, irreverent, and potentially groundbreaking programs.
But somewhere along the line, The Simpsons gained sensitivity, warmth, and even a religious aspect.
In the episode Alone Again, Natura-Diddly, Springfield mourns the loss of Maude Flanders. And without his wife, Ned Flanders sees some cracks in his bedrock of religious faith.
He questions God about the wisdom of taking Maude from her family and then stays in bed to avoid his favorite weekly activity – Sunday church service.
But his faith isn’t shaken for long. Ned speeds to the church and gets there just in time to hear a Christian rock singer belt out a tune about finding her faith in God after some rough times.
It’s enough to capture Ned’s attention.
After the service, he tells her about his recent rough times. When she asks Ned if he’d like to grab a cup of coffee, she senses his uneasiness. But she leaves the door open for when she returns from the Monsters of Christian Rock tour.
Ned’s good cheer returns in full when he declares, Maybe we can. My name’s Ned Flanders and I’m here every week, rain or shine!