Cable channels used to have fairly rigid formats that followed simple formulas. Nickelodeon was the network for kids. ESPN was the network for sports. USA was the network for non-stop reruns of Wings. Now most of them have fallen into a strange gelatinous blob of unoriginal and unrecognizable sewage. I believe the technical term is "reality shows."
The TV Land network has been slowly engulfed by this blob of mediocrity with shows like High School Reunion and The Cougar. Their latest VP hire indicates it's about to be swallowed whole by more of the same.
The former classic TV network has hired Eliot Goldberg as their new senior vice president of development and original programming. Goldberg used to work for Ryan Seacrest Productions as a development executive. His resume includes the creation of such "quality" programming as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Denise Richards: It's Complicated. Viewers can probably expect more of the same on Goldberg's new home turf.
This means all of your favorite old sitcoms and drams (or what is left of them) are on the way out the door to make room for more reality programming where people will either whore themselves on cameras for dates and/or money. Maybe shows like All in the Family or 3rd Rock from the Sun aren't the ratings grabbers they once were, but at least you could count on them to provide some semblance of entertainment unlike the latest camera hogging, money grubbing reality show bitch-fest.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-19-2009 @ 7:36PM
joe said...
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3-19-2009 @ 7:44PM
David said...
I'm so tired of reality Shows!It's all crap, mindless junk. I think reality shows should be information shows like News & Documentaries, Sporting events & Concerts. I don't want see a bunch talentless morons trying to sing, dance, sit in a house or island, race across the country or the world, become a model! What is the point of cable or Satellite services if all the channels are showing reality TV all the same crap, TV Land used to be about old shows that bring back memories, Scifi used to be science fiction and fantasy! Well it claimed to be that, now it's wrestling & Ghost hunting. Network TV crams anything good they have on the same day or on day nobody seems to watch TV. Now in a time when someone should be able to choose what they want to watch and when, there seems be no more choice, it's being taken away by reality shows. On Sunday a show called Kings aired and nobody watched, if it was on HBO I'm sure it would have been a hit. I hope this fad will end soon, a few years ago it was wall to wall game shows, every day. I know there is a market for Game & Reality shows, but not every day and on every channel please!!!!!!
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3-19-2009 @ 8:02PM
Ben said...
who's watching these reality shows?
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3-19-2009 @ 8:32PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
The Nielsen family idiots are the ones watching. Thats the only ones that matter. And there are very few of them. They decide what all the rest of us get to choose from.
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3-20-2009 @ 1:40AM
David said...
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but now The Nielsen family idiots means the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many!!!!!!
3-19-2009 @ 11:00PM
Mowriter said...
I wish tv land would stick with old tv shows . They r going to lose me too. There's so many old shows they could be showing. What's wrong with them and this stupid new direction?
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3-20-2009 @ 1:32AM
David said...
I guess you can try Retro Television Network (RTN)
http://www.myretrotv.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_Television_Network
3-20-2009 @ 7:45AM
Lorie said...
TVLand has sold out. Stupid reality shows have no business sharing air time with legends like Andy Griffith and Lucille Ball.
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3-20-2009 @ 1:13PM
Will said...
I agree with Lorie -- TV Land sold out and now it's just a shadow of its former self. Sad, really, because it used to be such a great little station. Now it's just crap.
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3-23-2009 @ 1:50PM
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3-27-2009 @ 3:58PM
Rick said...
Sad day for TVLand, the only network that used to be "safe" to watch. It is sad to see it slip into the quagmire of what is now called "entertainment".
As far as ratings, there used to be a loyal base to TVLand of boomers turning 60 who are looking for nostalgia, somewhere there must be some smart folks that will cash into this demographic now that TVLand is abandoning a pretty large audience.
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3-30-2009 @ 3:27AM
ManekiNeko said...
I don't even see the point of this. Viacom owns at least a dozen networks. If people want to watch reality shows, they can tune into another one of those networks and Viacom doesn't lose a dime in advertising. There's no reason to cannibalize a network with a clearly defined purpose just to capitalize on a fad that can be satisfied elsewhere.
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4-23-2009 @ 5:45PM
joanne said...
There are so many old sitcoms that Tvland could be showing, like Hazel or Patty Duke instead of clogging the airways with reality like all the other channels. They should stay with their format.
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5-19-2009 @ 12:40AM
G Cott said...
Hate what is being done to TV Land. It was the one channel to turn to get away from reality shows. Bring back classics like Bob Newhart, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Sonny and Cher, Happy Days, Coach, etc. PLEASE
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6-13-2009 @ 9:30PM
Robert Wayne said...
I'm on the verge of just dropping the ever increasing monthly cable bill because of all the lousy reality crap on TV. Just awhile ago I was getting ready to watch The Andy Griffith Show, instead TVLand put on some 15 minute crap promoting another stupid reality show about middle aged models. Needless to say I changed the channel. I hope the sponsors realize that nobody watches that reality garbage and that they're wasting their money by advertising during those pollution fests.
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