There are a lot of good shows on the air. The list includes:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Vanished
Gilmore Girls
Veronica Mars
Law & Order: SVU
Jericho
Justice
Lost
Kidnapped
Ugly Betty
Grey's Anatomy
ER
Men in Trees
The Simpsons
I'd be watching Prison Break too if my TiVo hadn't broken. And there are a few other shows I'd like to watch that conflict with these shows, unfortunately.
But let's review the diversity of this new season. Except for the Latina Ugly Betty, all the stars are white. Every show has at least one black person among the top six or seven characters, even the ones set in Kansas (Jericho) or Alaska (Men in Trees). There are several significant Asians and a few Latinos.
But I don't see any Natives in recurring roles. If every show has 10 recurring characters, there should be one Native every 10 shows. Actress Princess Lucaj did have a bit role in the first Jericho, but I didn't see her in the second one. And that's about it.
Men in Trees is a special case, since it's supposedly a new Northern Exposure. I see a few Native-looking people in the background, but there aren't any with speaking parts. Natives should comprise something like 10% of the population in rural Alaska. But I guess this is sort of a Fantasyland version of Alaska. So far it's been sunny every day with barely a hint of inclement weather.
10 comments:
Give "Prison Break" a chance; it's my favorite so far (at least until Battlestar, Lost, and 24 enter the mix).
No Natives that I can see in it; I guess I'll have to settle for Graham Greene as Arlen Bitterbuck in "The Green Mile" which was on FX last night.
Writerfella here --
Of the list of shows you gave, some are in ratings straits. VANISHED is faltering, JUSTICE was in trouble but it's ratings rose a little, JERICHO was saved by more people watching the second episode, KIDNAPPED is on the skids, UGLY BETTY has a gun to her forehead, MEN IN TREES likely only has men in trees as its audience, and STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP was the most critically-acclaimed new show but it's getting the big ho-hum from all who've seen it.
PRISON BREAK (which I've NEVER watched) is doing okay, but way down from last year. The crucial suspense item was the prison itself. Now it's just one long chase. After all, once they were out of jail, where could the show go?
Can't wait for BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, MI-5, and LOST to keep writerfella awake!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Good jokes there, Writerfella. Perhaps we can say that "MEN IN TREES: men watching = three" ?
I think "Prison Break" is great: I went into it with "Shawshank" and "Green Mile" expectations, and these are mostly satisfied. Don't discount how good a "manhunt" show can be (which is what it has turned into, of course).
I've never heard of MI-5 except as something real.
I'm still watching Season 1 of Prison Break on DVD. I'll have to watch Season 2 that way also, since I couldn't TiVo the first two episodes.
By the way, I didn't say all these shows were doing well or would do well. I wouldn't be surprised if half of them get canceled. I think there are too many good shows chasing too few viewers.
But I doubt Ugly Betty is in trouble yet. As the LA Times reported:
At 8 p.m., "Betty" emerged as a strong No. 2 to CBS' "Survivor: Cook Islands" (16.6 million), which on this week's episode merged the tribes that had been divided along ethnic lines, effectively ending a controversial "social experiment."
Do we have anything as bad this season as Whoopie Goldberg's sitcom that came out a few years ago?
This was the one that was so lame that it had an Iranian character to whom Arab stereotypes were attached (interchangably with the Iranian ones)?. He definitely was not a Dr. Bashir (excellent character that seemed to avoid both ethnic stereotype and a lot of sci-fi cliche).
Writerfella here --
UGLY BETTY as a new series indeed posted the highest household rating (10.1) for its timeslot. But handicappers at Bravo's Fall Lineup Deathwatch put the show at better than 8:1 odds to be cancelled. Right now, MEN IN TREES leads with odds of 3:1 to be cancelled.
And MI-5 is the American title for BBC-2's spy series SPOOKS, which is being run periodically on A&E Network. It was supposed to begin last Friday night but didn't materialize.
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
According to one article I saw, Jericho is considered a strong performer and a budding hit.
Writerfella here --
KIDNAPPED almost was cancelled, then NBC changed its pea-sized peacock mind and will decide whether to re-tool it, relocate it, or put it on hiatus (death knell, that). JERICHO will have to do better than Wednesday night's episode, that's for sure.
BRAVO's DeathWatch is fun to play and you could win a video IPod for the right bets.
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Writerfella here --
SMITH, the much-touted Ray Liotta crime drama has been cancelled by CBS. KIDNAPPED is on hiatus and likely is gone. So far, the series writerfella bet on to be cancelled only wound up on hiatus and thus he is not in line to win a video IPod. But the season is young...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Fox is shuffling the air times for Justice, Vanished, and Standoff in an attempt to save them. It'll be too bad if they don't survive. Along with Studio 60, Justice and Standoff are among the best shows of the new season. They're definitely superior to Jericho or Men in Trees.
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