Race to the bottom

[oselle]

Sistermagpie on LJ linked to this article the dreadful NBC Mad Men ripoff, The Playboy Club.

After reading this, and after seeing a preview of the equally dismal Pan Am on ABC, it's painfully apparent that the hacks over at NBC and ABC have no idea what Mad Men is about or what makes it so great.

In fact, the only thing they seem to have gleaned from Mad Men is that the early 1960s were some kind of golden era when men were men and women were dames and that -- and only that -- is what we want. So we'll all tune in for these two incredibly lame copycats to see more of men being men (i.e. smoking and drinking and ogling dames) and women being dames (i.e. wearing big hairdos and torpedo bras and getting ogled).

If I were head of programming at either NBC or ABC I would be fucking embarrassed to roll out programs that are not only blatant ripoffs of a better show, but that didn't even attempt to rip off anything but the most superficial features of that better show. But no -- somebody greenlit this shit, obviously thinking that all they needed to duplicate Mad Men's success were costumes and cigarettes. And so it becomes more and more obvious to me all the time that most people in the entertainment industry didn't get there on talent.

Comments

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I've pretty much given up on the Big Three for this very reason. They always seem to be playing a game of catch-up. The worst recent example I can think of is 'The Cape,' a show they didn't even think to attempt until Christian Bale had two great Batman movies under his belt, and 'Smallville' had exhausted all but the most zealous Superman fans.

I used to turn in to Fox for 'House,' I'm now tracking the great shows on AMC, and I'm checking out what I've missed on HBO and Showtime. I haven't been excited about the big networks since the debut seasons of 'Lost' and 'Desperate Housewives.'

I've probably missed out on a few good shows - I remember people going apeshit over 'Grey's Anatomy' - but I just can't bring myself to care.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

They always seem to be playing a game of catch-up.

Yes, but I've never seen such an egregious example of it as this year's crop of Mad Men wannabes -- though NBC's Grimm, which sounds like an uninspired counterfeit of our own Supernatural isn't much better.

It actually pisses me off because first off, it just shows how little talent and creative thinking these people have, in spite of their paychecks. Second, it proves what incredible dullards they think the viewing audience is. I can just imagine the pitch on these shows: "Well, if they like THAT, then they're gonna love THIS!" Um...no. Especially in the case of Grimm, which is airing in SPN's Friday-night timeslot. Does NBC really think they're going to siphon off any part of SPN's crazy-devoted audience with a show that's "just like!" SPN? Although I'm sure that people who happen to like the fantasy/horror genre in general will at least check out Grimm, viewers who are committed to SPN (no matter how bad it gets) are fans for a host of reasons that probably, at this point, have little to do with the show's original folklorish premise.

Interestingly, ABC is also doing a fantasy series (Once Upon A Time) about fairy tales in the modern world -- but that one does look somewhat unique, whereas Grimm just reads (and even looks) like a carbon copy of SPN.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

AMC calls it "original programming" for a reason - because it's original.

20 shows in our Season Pass Manager right now - 2 from CBS and 2 from Fox and the other 16 are off cable networks - FX, A&E, The CW, AMC, USA, TNT & SyFy.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Every time I hear AMC's "original programming" slogan, I think the same thing.