1. NBC-U GOES DOWN, WAY DOWN
NBC-Universal posted a shocking 45% plunge in profits so far this year. Now the plunge itself isn't
what shocked me, but the fact that it was only 45%. Now I know that all is not bleak with NBC, the arrival of Southland has literally doubled the number of shows on that network I consider worth a chance. (The other being Life with Damien Lewis and the delectable Sarah Shahi)
Now the fact that NBC-U CEO Jeff Zucker is not only staying at his post, but still capable of walking under his own power is also stunning. I guess his plan of having someone even worse, Ben Silverman, as the man most likely to succeed him, is a great way to avoid getting fired. However, being the lesser of to weasels can't go on forever while a once major corporation sinks slowly in a sea of red ink.
What can be done to save NBC? I don't know, it may have sunk past a point of no return.
2. JONNY QUEST GOES TO HELL
Okay, I heard that the brain trust at Warner Bros. is looking to make a big screen, live action version of the classic Jonny Quest cartoon, and that they want Disney pretty-boy Zac Efron in the title role.
I can think of 3 things wrong with that:
1. Age: The "classic" Jonny Quest that people actually remember (not the lame spinoff show) is an eleven year old boy full of energy, courage, and curiousity. Zac Efron's a twenty-something tween idol full of hair gel.
2. Audience Demographics: Zac Ephron's target audience are pre-adolescent girls. Jonny Quest's true target audience are 30 something males, who remember the original show as the most violent, offensive, and hence the coolest, cartoon they ever saw.
3. The MPAA: The studio will want to make the movie a G at best, or a light PG at most, while the elements that made the TV show memorable would score at least a PG-13, or maybe even an R (if done right). Remember, this was a cartoon that had episodes featuring gunfights, (with Jonny participating), and gruesome deaths, lots of them. This wasn't Scooby Doo, and that's why we loved it on those rare occassions when a station from Bangor, Maine would re-run them un-cut.
Don't forget to order. I want every reader to buy a copy, enjoy my story The Dixie Chrononauts, and tell your friends to order a copy too.
NBC-Universal posted a shocking 45% plunge in profits so far this year. Now the plunge itself isn't
what shocked me, but the fact that it was only 45%. Now I know that all is not bleak with NBC, the arrival of Southland has literally doubled the number of shows on that network I consider worth a chance. (The other being Life with Damien Lewis and the delectable Sarah Shahi)Now the fact that NBC-U CEO Jeff Zucker is not only staying at his post, but still capable of walking under his own power is also stunning. I guess his plan of having someone even worse, Ben Silverman, as the man most likely to succeed him, is a great way to avoid getting fired. However, being the lesser of to weasels can't go on forever while a once major corporation sinks slowly in a sea of red ink.
What can be done to save NBC? I don't know, it may have sunk past a point of no return.
2. JONNY QUEST GOES TO HELL
Okay, I heard that the brain trust at Warner Bros. is looking to make a big screen, live action version of the classic Jonny Quest cartoon, and that they want Disney pretty-boy Zac Efron in the title role.
I can think of 3 things wrong with that:
1. Age: The "classic" Jonny Quest that people actually remember (not the lame spinoff show) is an eleven year old boy full of energy, courage, and curiousity. Zac Efron's a twenty-something tween idol full of hair gel.2. Audience Demographics: Zac Ephron's target audience are pre-adolescent girls. Jonny Quest's true target audience are 30 something males, who remember the original show as the most violent, offensive, and hence the coolest, cartoon they ever saw.
3. The MPAA: The studio will want to make the movie a G at best, or a light PG at most, while the elements that made the TV show memorable would score at least a PG-13, or maybe even an R (if done right). Remember, this was a cartoon that had episodes featuring gunfights, (with Jonny participating), and gruesome deaths, lots of them. This wasn't Scooby Doo, and that's why we loved it on those rare occassions when a station from Bangor, Maine would re-run them un-cut.
Don't forget to order. I want every reader to buy a copy, enjoy my story The Dixie Chrononauts, and tell your friends to order a copy too.
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