"The Chair" Should Get "The Axe"

[JustBob]

Oh boy...
Did anyone waste an hour (as I did ) the other night suffering through "The Chair"? John McEnroe? Puh-leeze!
ABC is in dire straits.

 

[Tannerman]

Could be worse... could be "The Chamber" on FOX

Here are two reviews on the shows, from those who really care about this reality TV stuff. Even they wonder if these shows are a good idea or not.

The Chair (ABC)
The Chamber (FOX)

 

[OnWithTheShow]

After seeing the previews I decided not to waste the time watching this show. I think some new leadership in the programming department at ABC might be needed.

 

[Another Voice]

While ‘The Chair’ did absolutely nothing to increase my heart rate, but I felt my I.Q. drop a good forty points.

There are rumors that ABC may be dropping to a “second tier” network along the lines of WB and UPN. Blocks of time will be returned back to the local stations or sold for infomercials (along the lines of the Victoria’s Secret “fashion show” last month). Disney is simply is unable to develop and pay for programming. None of the local station owners or managers are happy with that idea. The irony is that Disney will have to pay other studios for programming to show on Disney’s own network. A network that was purchased to provide an outlet for Disney programming.

‘The Chair’ has already filmed thirteen episodes and the only reason it’s on is because (as someone described it) – it’s unacceptable to broadcast static for an hour.

 

[Tannerman]

Interesting take, AV. Haven't heard any of that talk in the industry pubs, then again, if it's rumor, it wouldn't be there. It will be interesting to see if Susan Lyne can turn things around a little, or if she will be another roadkill in this mess...

 

[eeyore0062]

I saw the commercial for The Chair, and that is all it took to tell me it would be a complete waste of my time to watch it.

 

[airlarry!]

AV:

What do you know about ABC's new life-Lyne? Can she move and shake the TV division back into some respectability? What is her reputation?

 

[BRERALEX]

the chamber lololololololoololololololololololol
i wasted about ten minutes on it. tv is getting sad. i must look pretty dumb to watch this. or they must think we are all pretty dumb to watch this.

havent seen the chair yet but thanx everyone for the heads up i guess mcenroe needed a paycheck. thank god for dvd's

 

[larworth]

I tuned in expecting to watch vintage Johnny Mac throwing things and verbally abusing some poor schmuk who I assumed would be made to sit in an umpire’s CHAIR. Instead I got this lame show.

I guess it’s back to ESPN classic.

 

[Another Voice]

I haven’t heard much about all the new executives that have moving into Fort ABC these days. For the most part, they really don’t matter except as scapegoats. Eisner and Iger the ones making all of the important decisions and ABC’s management is somewhat marginalized.

There seems to be a “scorched earth” policy these days within Disney’s business units. After the disastrous summer for movies, Eisner decimated the Studio’s management and assumed control for himself (without replacing all those fired movie execs). He’s now doing the same thing with Broadcast and you can all but see the bodies being tossed out of the building onto the 134 Freeway. But with Eisner taking over the operation of the T.V. group, there’s no one left back running the Studio. One suspects that the same situation will happen with ABC: no management will be around when Eisner wanders off the go play with the Theme Parks again.

There is very little respect for ABC around Hollywood right now. No one would be surprised if several high profile series (‘NYPD Blue’, ‘The Practice’) left the air or the network. Attracting new shows to the network is all but impossible – Disney won’t pay enough to make dealing with the circus worth it for the producers. Worse still, the folks down to street at Warner Brothers think they have a shot at pulling The WB ahead of ABC late next year (they already trounce ABC in a lot of time slots). All these factors make it all too easy to bypass taking your show to ABC, and without new shows, the network will continue to slide.

Disney’s management is solely focused on economics these days and they’re entirely forgotten the first rule in entertainment – make stuff people want to watch. ‘The Chair’ is only on the air because it’s cheap. No one, either in the public or at the network, likes it.

 

[sgtpet]

This show was horrible. I watched 15 minutes of it and I was in awe of how bad it was.

How about getting Tim Allen back?

 

[JimB.]

sgtpet -


Gotcha' beat. I lasted 35 minutes.

Then it was back to JAG. Being a retired Naval Officer, IMHO, it's the best show on TV.

 

[airlarry!]

AV:

Did you see the recent quote where Ei$ner was talked about in his new roles? Something about being so disappointed with the film division that he has taken to reading and reviewing scripts again.

I do not know whether to shake or shudder on that one. Lemme see if I can find the article.


quote:
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But the key to shaking off the shackles of recession is, quite simply, hit TV programmes and hit movies, Mr Eisner told investors. "Every time I have ever seen a problem in the entertainment business the way out is strong content."
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Hehehehe. Mr. Ei$ner, content drives this company, always has, always will. I think back to every interview I've seen with Lassiter, where he doesn't mention synergy or vertical integration or blather on about the strange weather patterns in California...all John Lassiter talks about is creating a story. That's what the audience wants. If Ei$ner would allow his troops to do this in every part of the company...


quote:
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Mr Eisner is said to be getting far more involved with the creative decisions again. He is reading scripts and attending weekly creative meetings.
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But he won't. Instead of worrying about setting a lead for the company to follow, with a vision of improving the company's credibility through creativity, is he worrying more about his role s script doctor?

For more, check out this link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4335419,00.html

This article by David Teather seems fair and accurate. If anyone of you missed it, it is a good read.

 

[zurgswife]

I came acrossed it about half way through. What a joke Johnny Mac was horrible as a host. The contestants where laughable especially the guy who was so cocky and never got to answer a single question....