by helpful information perha » Wed May 29, 2002 11:05 am
hmmm, well as much as it may surprise you, some of us st8 folk are Amber fans and just as offended by what has been presented on Buffy this season as the lesbian community.
The continual degradation of females and minorities, especially on shows that target youthful audiences effects the cultural conscience of society now and for decades to come. Perpetuating bigotry benifits no one, be they male, female, st8/sexual minority etc.
The media are out to sell their products, no matter how.
Most of the supposed "news" piecies via entertainment rags (printed and online) are simply put "spin"/Adverts to sell the product. Reviewers are courted for positive reviews with everything from "insider info" to dinners to access to stars to well you get the point. Media rags are more advertisement than journalism
Ex. EW didn't publish the fact that Buffy's overall ratings are down year to year or that its female and teen demographics (which advertisers pay more for) or down or that its numbers are sliding from begining of the season. Instead to put a pos spin on Buffy's numbers they pulled out the first airing of each eps numbers and printed that the average total audience figures for that subset were up slightly - without normalizing for growth in population, number of stations airing etc. In otherwords they found a stat they could use in a positive light and spun it
The best way to delineate the truth is to have the data, all the data, so people can draw their own conclusions, rather than have someone play games with subsets of data to try and spin it to the positive. When did anyone ever hear of a shows stats being presented for just the first airings of the season episodes - I'll tell you when - when its the ONLY way to show a positive stat for the season!
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FYI
I looked for the info JJ noted at EW.com but I could only find this piece (excerpted below) which says buffy and enterprise started strong but then slid and GG's beat buffy for its time slot. Interesting that UPN looks to buffy to give it ligitamacy which - given this years fan outcries and reviewers barbs says to me - UPN cannot be all that pleased with Whedons direction season 6 and explains why he is "going back to basics" season 7.
EW.com
The Upside-down Season
Our wrap-up of this TV season's winners and losers. Hot was cold (adios, ''Ally McBeal''), old was new (hey there, Carol Burnett), and small was big (coochie-coo, ''Baby Bob'') by Dan Snierson
UPN
RANK No. 5 in total viewers; No. 5 in 18-49
THE GOOD
Maybe the shamefaced days of ''Homeboys in Outer Space'' truly are in the past. Decent-size audiences boarded ''Enterprise'' (making it the netlet's highest-rated drama at No. 112) and staked out WB transplant ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (No. 124). ''Both ['Buffy' and 'Enterprise'] made statements about UPN,'' says CBS' Kahl, who also oversees UPN scheduling (both nets are owned by Viacom). ''They brought some new viewers, they add some legitimacy.'' In other news, ''WWF'' -- oops, excuse us -- ''WWE Smackdown!'' had a headlock on the No. 105 spot. THE BAD
''Buffy'' and ''Enterprise'' slid a bit after exploding out of the gate, and the netlet's horrid luck in the reality genre (''Chains of Love,'' anyone?) continued with family series ''Under One Roof'' (No. 156). Plus, fellow midseason hopefuls ''The Random Years'' (No. 159) and ''As If'' (No. 156), both of which aired on Tuesday night, packed all the ratings punch of a hair-removal infomercial. Says Kahl: ''They were well outside of what the UPN audience expects -- comedies on what is not a comedy night, comedies that took a big chance, as it turns out, maybe a little too big.'' Or not.
THE UPSHOT
If ''Buffy'''s success can bleed into new otherworldly drama ''Haunted'' and ''Enterprise'' can power the remake of ''The Twilight Zone,'' UPN just might be able to keep a certain frog at bay next season.
THE WB
RANK No. 6 in total viewers; No. 6 in 18-49
THE GOOD
The Gilmore, the merrier: The underdog family drama ''Gilmore Girls'' (No. 122) outdrew time-slot rival ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'' Its lead-out ''Smallville'' soared to No. 112. And ''7th Heaven'' preached to more viewers than either of those shows (No. 97). But in an act truly sent from above, ''Reba'' anchored an otherwise bleak Friday at No. 130. ''It proves not only that we can create a hit sitcom,'' says WB Entertainment prez Jordan Levin, ''but a sitcom that appeals to the whole family.''
THE BAD
The Jamie JFK Experiment yielded some big laughs but not-so-big numbers at No. 145. ''Sunday night was a very difficult place to see that show,'' laments Levin, who will use it next season as counterprogramming to ''Will & Grace'' on Thursdays. He adds: ''Because there's buzz, I think it's on the verge of breaking out.'' No. 154 My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star generated an audience size inversely proportional to the length of its title. (''I'd rather fail with a show that is at least trying to be different,'' reasons Levin.) Meanwhile, Bob Saget couldn't draw a full house with ''Raising Dad'' (No. 141), ''Popstars 2'' pooped out (No. 147), and midseason reality series ''No Boundaries'' was fenced in at No. 156.
THE UPSHOT
Since former laughingstock UPN isn't exactly stocked with laughs, The WB needs to keep digging for another comedy success like ''Reba'' so it can stop singing the basement blues.
(Additional reporting by Caroline Kepnes)
(Posted:05/31/02)
