You won't believe which show is kicking the collective ass of TV Land's The Cougar. Then again, maybe you will. The New York Times reports that reruns of (Shazam!) The Andy Griffith Show are the cable network's most watched show.
So does this mean that the former classic TV network will go back to running shows that people actually want to watch? Probably not. Sorry to break the bad news to you. Oh, and there is no Santa Claus, and if the tooth fairy does exist, she's probably a big ol' commie.
The network is trying to attract the all-important "younger viewer" during its prime time slots, and thinks that shows like The Cougar and High School Reunion are the way to do it.
The only reason I can fathom that a "younger viewer" would watch those shows is to laugh at how horribly bad they are. The one time I've watched either of them for more than a few minutes, they didn't try to be anything original or more than the usual reality fare. They actually try to be family-friendly reality shows devoid of any real big shocks or tastelessness, and come off creepier than they actually do. Just trying to imagine the kind of family that watches a 40-year-old woman cream over a gaggle of young meatheads makes my back hair want to jump out of its pores and commit suicide.
The ratings that dipped by more than a fourth since the premiere isn't deterring TV Land's heads of state from churning out more stomach churning fare. They have another reality dating show around the corner and an over-35 women's modeling competition starting this summer. That's also around the time the price for antacid shoots up, as well. That's how they get ya.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-12-2009 @ 12:30PM
Freak Mojo said...
WAIT!!!! Reruns of SHAZAM! ??? Sign me up. I usually bypass this channel for the above reason, but I'll be looking it up now to see what great fun Billy Batson and company are up too.
Creepy old man and a camper FTW!!!!
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5-12-2009 @ 12:36PM
Freak Mojo said...
Ok.. so I just checked their list of shows and did not see SHAZAM! listed.... is someone playing tricks on me?
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5-12-2009 @ 12:56PM
royce said...
Shazam was the catchphrase of Gomer Pyle, a character on Andy Griffith.
5-12-2009 @ 2:34PM
Freak Mojo said...
Thanks for clearing that up.. after a search on the TVLand website I saw that come up.
Very disappointed :(
5-12-2009 @ 1:18PM
JD said...
qoute; The network is trying to attract the all-important "younger viewer" during its prime time slots, and thinks that shows like The Cougar and High School Reunion are the way to do it. /quote
Hasn't the parent company of TVLand screwed up another five channels be trying to get the younger viewer? Me, the one who grew up with the shows that TV Land has stopped showing has the money the advertising people want. I haven't watch TV Land is a long time.
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5-12-2009 @ 1:28PM
MCW said...
If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have thought TV Land even existed still. That channel is the antithesis of the television I watch. Why watch old crap out of order, and with episodes missing from the reruns when I can watch quality new shows struggling to survive more than 1 season?
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5-12-2009 @ 2:11PM
DanNewYork said...
I've enjoyed TV Land for many years now, and I think this article is right on.. The 'Couger', gag me with a shovel and the other crap, 'High School Reunion' is like a "Reali-drama soap opera" gone boringly bad...
There were a few times where I was set to watch a good ol' episode of 'GUNSMOKE' or 'M*A*S*H' and that crap came on.. BOO!
TV Land used to get better with time, bringing on new "Retro" TV programs, and now they add this
"Modern" style "Prime Time" junk instead....
How about 'The Honeymooners', 'Mchale's Navy', 'The Ed Sullivan Show', 'Dragnet'
Hey I'm grateful for the programs they DO show us that are good, I just hope TV Land doesn't continue to go downhill.
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5-12-2009 @ 2:52PM
Brandon said...
Isn't this the same company that runs MTV and VH1? If so, say goodbye to TV Land.
I've been thinking for a long time, that they should air old Carson and (Late Night With)David Letterman reruns in their original time slots. I think that would be a great win for them.
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5-12-2009 @ 4:50PM
Moesart said...
The parent company of TV Land being MTV, who kill every channel they touch with the same garbage programming.
They used to show "Shazam" late on Friday nights/Sat morning along with other kid shows from the 70's. That was great.
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5-12-2009 @ 4:55PM
L Randolph said...
As Colbert once told an extremely squirmish Bill O'Reilly, "If you're an act, than what am I?" Please, please please use THEN and not THAN. IT makes no sense THAN WHAT AM I? THEN WHAT AM I, THEN THEN THEN.
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5-14-2009 @ 2:59PM
nytheatreguy said...
I wish I was running TV Land. First thing I'd do is throw out all of those crappy reality shows and take the station back to its roots -- i.e., giving us a steady stream of nothing but classic TV. I'm talking "Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy," "MTM," "Leave It to Beaver," "Our Miss Brooks," "Munsters," "Bewitched," "Gilligan's Island," "Rhoda," "Andy Griffith Show," etc. And every show would be strictly from the 50s, 60s, and 70s (no 80s or 90s). I'd also do like that other poster above suggested and run nothing but old shows like "Shazam," "Isis," "Land of the Lost," "Scooby Doo," etc. on Saturday and Sunday mornings (probably from like 6 a.m. to noon). Anyway, that's how *I* would run things if I was in charge at TV Land.
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