CopRock-related stories
Posted Sep 17th 2009 6:00PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Music and Variety, Reality-Free, Glee

In
my review of last night's Glee, I praised Amber Riley's voice, noting that it sounded like a combo of Jennifer Hudson and Rihanna when her character Mercedes sang about busting the windows out of Kurt's car. Commenter "czaravm" noted that after about 30 seconds, the computerized music kicked in, giving it a canned sound. I was pretty mesmerized by Riley's voice and the way she was workin' that body, so I didn't really notice it.
Does this sort of canned music bother you? Is it enough to make you stop watching
Glee? Based on the comments on my review post, it sounds like some of you are disappointed with how the show is going.
Continue reading Does the computerized music in Glee bug you?
Posted Mar 5th 2009 5:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, American Idol, Reality-Free

If you had to guess, what's the most coveted, prime TV real estate currently available? In February, it was the post-Super Bowl slot, but now -- what could it be. How about the hour after the
American Idol finale on May 19 on FOX. With that in mind, FOX has decided to give one of its most promising, albeit unusual, new products the hour.
Ryan Murphy's musical comedy series
Glee is getting the post American Idol finale hour. And yes, it is a musical comedy TV series. After American Idol crowns its new winner on May 19, all those millions of viewers, the ones who stay on the network, will see a special preview of the show about a struggling high school glee club.
Continue reading Fox gives Glee a top-flight launching pad
Posted Nov 6th 2006 9:32AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, ABC, OpEd, Short-Lived Shows
All right, let's get into this Cop Rock thing that the A.V. Club has just mentioned as one of the top "lamentably lost" television shows. Trust me folks, the show was not something to lament about. In fact, I'm sure there are people out there who wish the show would just be lost and buried deep into the ground.
I guess you could say that the concept of the show was unique. Created by Steven Bochco, who was known as the driving force behind the police drama Hill Street Blues, Cop Rock combined said police drama with musical theater. Each episode of the short-lived series, which ran on ABC from September to December of 1990, began with a music-video style credit sequence with theme music by Randy Newman. Then, throughout each week's program, characters would break out in song and dance during the middle of a scene. For example, a jury would sing out "He's Guilty" in Gospel format, or a lineup of Hispanic suspects would proclaim racial discrimination in a pithy little ditty.
Continue reading Short-Lived Shows: Cop Rock