Fans debate whether NBC should replace Seinfeld with "Working" or other shows, with disagreement over ratings and quality comparisons to Frasier and other network programs.
I'm sure that the genii running NBC will put Frasier on at 9pm (after Kelsey Grammer somehow makes them pay a king's ransom), but I think that a bold move would be to put "Working" in the slot. I personally think that it has dethroned Seinfeld as the funniest and best-written show on TV.
Funny how Frasier gets all the Emmys, but gets lower ratings than shows like Drew Carey, Veronica's Closet, Ellen (ugh), Home Improvement, and many others. Go figure.
DLC
In article ,
FYI, Frasier does NOT get lower ratings than Drew Carey or Ellen, which often finishes in the 40's to 50's in rank. Coincidentally, Frasier has pulled ahead of Home Improvement on Tuesdays and has beaten it in the ratings sevaral times this season. And finally, we all know that Veronica's Closet is pretty much an inferior show and only gets the big ratings it does because it follows Seinfeld. Ask any advertising exec about the number of viewers Closet loses after Seinfeld. It is clearly a time slot hit. In addition, Frasier has been holding it's own for three years now against Home Improvement, which is a lot more competition than Seinfeld has to deal with right now. As for "Working", it has consistently gotten mediocre ratings on Wednesday for NBC and will probably not return next season at all, much less in the Thursday at 9 slot. If you want to get the real story on the TV ratings, pick up a copy of USA Today every Wednesday. They post the TV ratings for the entire week. Then you can see that Frasier has actually been doing quite well in the ratings, finishing in the top ten several times this season and in the top twenty almost every week.
Gene (A Frasier and Seinfeld rerun fan)
Seinfeld got bad ratings and NBC still put it on Thursdays then it started to receive high ratings.
David Ren
[email] wrote in message ...
On Thu, 8 Jan 1998, David Campbell wrote:
I could be wrong, but I thought that "Working" was on ABC? I vote for "Just Shoot Me".
Corrina
On Thu, 8 Jan 1998 11:23:38 -0800, "Corrina O. Parry" wrote:
Working on ABC?? Nope.
Working? Fred Savage is good, but that show is terrible! They need a whole new supporting cast. I'd be surprised if it comes back at all.
Its likely that Frasier will be the one to replace Seinfeld's spot, given that NBC feels they "owe" Kelsey Grammer something for all his years (at least ten playing this character right?). Plus it meets the same demographics as Seinfeld.
But - if they wanted to do something bold and put in a good ensemble show, "Newsradio" would be it. It would be great if at least they follow "Frasier" with "Newsradio." It would be kind of like the old days of Cheers followed by Nightcourt.
How about this for Thursday:
8pm - Friends 830pm - **new Wayne Knight show** 900pm - Frasier 930pm - Newsradio 100pm - ER
Working replaces Seinfeld as the funniest and best written show on TV. Your nuts
In , David Campbell writes:
I agree!! working is one of the better shows on tv. I cant seem to find a newsgroup on it either, when I see all these ones for real bad shows.
In case y'all aren't aware, "Alright Already," the lowest rated show on TV (hey, it's on the WB--whattayawant?), stars Carol Leifer, former Seinfeld writer ("The Rye" was her best, IMHO) and, some say, the "Real Elaine."
DLC
In , David Campbell writes:
Yes. Carol was the inspiration for the 'Elaine' character.
I suppose if it's on WB, there's no way NBC will air it.
Maybe Jerry was just trying to give Carol a bit of free
advertising?
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[email]
(Hammer nail here--> <-- for a new monitor.)
(Remove XXXX to reply)Wasn't 'Cheers' one of the lowest rated shows in its first year? NBC could do a lot worse than 'Alright Already'. 'Working', for instance - what a dog!
Dave wrote in message ...
writes:
(hey, it's on the
was her best, IMHO) and,
** Good for Jerry...I like the show.... bad station..bad time..bad day..but its a pretty good show **
It Shrinks...???
NBC won't put Frasier at THURSDAYS because it is already working successfully on tuesdays and NBC doesn't want to ruin that. They won't put WORKING either because it is a different kind of comedy than Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, etc. They will probably put Friends at 9:00 and put either Mad About You or 3rd Rock at 8:00.
David
David Campbell wrote in message ...
They'll have to pony up big bucks to Kelsey Grammer to put Friends on at 9pm. He will want that spot and feel he deserves it. I could see Third Rock moving to Thursdays, but doubt Mad About You. This is all especially if Home Improvement does not come back next year, which is possible but not likely (up to Tim Allen). Friends doesn't necessarily pull the same audience (adults) as Seinfeld and NBC will need something simpatico - Frasier fits that bill, just like Seinfeld was the perfect replacement for Cheers. The only other thing is, if NBC gets bold, is that they might put Newsradio at 9pm, but not likely (930 is possible for NR).
My idea for an NBC lineup next year
MON 800 Suddenly Susan
830 **new show**
900 Caroline
930 **new show**
1000 DatelineTUE 800 Mad About You
830 Third Rock
900 Veronica's Closet
930 ** new show ** or best performer of Just Shoot Me, Working or
Naked Truth
1000 DatelineWED 800 Dateline
900 ** new drama **
1000 Law & OrderTHU 800 Friends
830 Newsradio
900 Frasier
930 The Costanzas :>
1000 ERFRI 800 ** new drama **
900 Dateline
1000 HomicideSAT 800 Pretender 900 Movie
SUN 700 Dateline
800 ** new sitcom **
830 ** new sitcom **
900 MovieIn all this talk about about the end of "Seinfeld", I think a little harsh critique of NBC is in order. Their panic over the show's loss can only be a slap in the face to other its shows, a probable sign they never thought most of the shows were that good to begin with. I'm inclined to agree, and if ever there was a time for viewers to speak out about NBC's dumping of forced comedy upon the viewing public, it's now.
I think NBC's strategy backfired. They tried to copy "Seinfeld" by getting the "quirk" in each of their sitcoms, and then once they had one office format, they quickly made it the focus of each show. Almost every NBC sitcom is some sort of "corporate comedy". One critic pointed out as an example the problem with the shows as they pertained to the Monday night line-up. Instead of making each Monday show different, the network has tried to point out how each "female-cenetered" show is exactly like the other three. How does that reinforce the shows as creatively good? The thought is that we are so mindless that if we like one show, we'll probably like a dozen others that are exactly like it. Right now, NBC's line-up is yuppie, white comedy with little diversity or quality to it. It's a very unattractive model of comedy. The Monday night logic applies to all their shows, where programming uniformity is the norm. NBC has it's own little "1984" thing going on there...
Most of these shows like "Caroline in the City", "Fired Up", "Suddenly Susan", "Working", "Union Square", "Just Shoot Me", etc. etc. are filler and will never be looked at as "memorable" telelvision. I've never even understood the appeal of the popular "Third Rock from the Sun", as I find most of it's characters too over the top and annoying (kind of like the "Seinfeld" gang is now). So not only is the "corporate" comedy format unappealing, it simply feels like every character on every show is trying too hard.
"Frasier" may be the only other good comedy on NBC besides "Seinfeld". It has the strongest writing and most memorable characters of any NBC show.
Plus, what is up with their horrible advertising? That guy who announces the show promos for NBC annoyingly sounds like he has had a dozen cups of coffee or speed or something. It's like a soundbite approach and it really does grate on a person.
What do you all think?
Ben
clone wrote,
AMEN!!! This is one of the most execrable shows on television and totally unwatchable! It's nothing more than warmed-over MORK & MINDY (aliens come to earth and are humorously confused by earth customs and idioms) without even 5% of the quality!
It was sold to the public by the TV critics, who are one of the most easily and cheaply bought groups of whores on the planet! They are trying to do the same thing with the vomit-inducing VERONICA'S CELLULITE! Fight television fascism and refuse to watch these terrible programs! Maybe then NBC will get the message and stop trying to force-feed us this garbage!
You know I've got to agree with you...none of the other NBC shows are of any interest to me. I thought I was just getting older or making an early exit from the 18-49 year old sector NBC is obviously pandering to.
You are right...Too many of the shows occur in the office....Newsradio (I am a giant fan of Dave Foley from his Kids in The Hall days...so I really tried to bond to the show), Just Shoot Me (which is a bit innovative with the captions that lead into each scene), The Naked Truth, Fired Up, Working, Suddenly Susan, Caroline in The City. And why do they keep writing these characters as journalists and media people? I thought 3rd Rock from the Sun has always been way overrated. And, year after year they give Emmys to John Lithgow. The cast is marvelous, but no one makes me care about those characters from week to week.
I guess I'll just take Kenny Kramer's advice and take up reading.
Andrea and Joshua Barol wrote:
Me too, but the red hair woman grossed me out with her chewing gum. :( If she ever leaves the show, I'll start watching it.
maro
[email] wrote:
I couldn't agree more. NBC has been resting on it's laurels for about 2 seasons now. And now that CBS has wrested the AFL football from them, I can see them losing affiliates and losing ratings big time. If NBC wants to remain on top, they are going to have to do better than some half-baked "safe" sitcoms. You don't remain on top by playing it safe, you need to take risks -- like Fox developing a Sci-Fi show called The X-Files <g>.
In article , [email] wrote:
I don't disagree with much of "your schedule", but I highly doubt H:LOTS will be back next season. NBC will probably totally restructure Fridays next season.
I hope NBC isn't dumb enough to dump "Profiler", as I now think I like it more than I like "The Pretender" (though it's a close call).
NBC just needs a good 3rd "Thrillogy" show. Maybe they should just go with a cop/mystery show to fill things out...
I enjoyed both Profiler and The Pretender but never much liked either. I found them uninvolving and basically rip-offs of better shows like Kolchack the Night Stalker (Profiler) and Quantum Leap & The Fugitive (which is basically what The Pretender is).
We have waayyy too many cop/mystery shows on television. We already have enough cliche comedies on NBC, we don't need another cliche horror show on NBC, as well.
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How did "Players" do when it tested on Saturday; for the short term it seems to be NBC's best shot if they want to keep the theme night. I've also got to wonder how much it would hurt them to run the shot-but-not-aired "Sleepwalkers" eps outside of sweeps periods.
I'm kind of wondering if this will turn into NBC's version of Friday at 8pm at Fox, where they cancelled "Brisco" and never did find something that paired as well with "The X-Files" (and later "Millenium"). At least the cast of "Dark Skies" seems to be gainfully employed.
David Campbell wrote in message ...
I disagree about putting FRASIER in SEINFELD's slot. The show is definitely on the downside of its life-cycle. It has been on for five seasons and its characterizations (Roz is a slut, Niles is whipped by Maris and lusts for Daphne the ditz, Frasier can't get laid) are getting old, stale and tiresome.
How many "classic" episodes of FRASIER can you name? I'd be hard-pressed to count them on the fingers of one hand. The show is not even in the Top 20, generally finishing at about #30 in the weekly Neilsens. It's doubtful that they would pick up the segment of the SEINFELD audience that doesn't already watch it.
FRASIER is in the TOP 20, sometime sin the top 10!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I can name over 30 classic episodes, it's a great series, the new episodes are better than the new seinfelds. The TV GUIDE writer said it best "Frasier is a comedy that is just as good in syndication as it is in primetime, I wish I could say the same for Seinfeld" I agree, I like Seinfeld charcters better, but FRASIER IS A GREAT SHOW! please dont post false info about the show, pick up EW and you will see it in the top 20
On 13 Jan 1998 22:18:49 GMT, [email] (KramerTV) wrote:
I think the syndication Seinfelds are the best ones.
In article ,
I can name plenty of classic episodes of "Frasier", and as far as ratings are concerned the show consistently finishes in the top 20 (unless it's a rerun); lately it's been in the top ten several times, beating out "Home Improvement". I've e-mailed you a story from "Ultimate TV News" to show. In addition, I used to like "Seinfeld" a lot but even the most ardent fans will admit that this season has not been up to par. I feel that "Frasier" is just as good as ever, and in fact it's ratings are up over last season when the majority of series are down. Pick up a copy of USA Today on Wednesday -- they publish the complete Nielsen list every week.
Gene
yea right. Working is just your standared sitcom with that Savage kid in the most irritating, unfunny straightman role. it's over-hyped, if anything...