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READER MAIL
January 20, 2006
Everyone knows that the little italics print at the end of this or any column always goes unread. But in the off chance you happened to glance at it after finishing my column one Friday, you may have noticed it offers up an e-mail address for reader feedback with a disclaimer that it could be considered for publication.
I figured it's about time I make good on that promise. So, for the first time ever, I'm going to partially turn this week's column over to you, the reader. Let's jump into my e-mail inbox and see what kinds of questions and comments have popped into it over the last few months.
We'll start with Stuart from Fort Mill, who, in reply to my recent column about heavily-serialized shows, wrote:
"You are so right serials are risky. They also tend to cause you to build your life around them, and they become boring. I enjoy watching a new story every week with a conclusion, like the 'CSI' or 'Law & Order' shows."
Fair enough, Stuart. Serials can test your patience if they don't progress the story at a fast enough pace. But I'm the kind of guy that finds more pleasure in a shocking "to be continued…" than I do a nice, pat resolution at the end of an episode. Thankfully for us, TV continues to offer up a steady dose of both serialized and self-contained shows. I still enjoy "CSI"'s clever 60-minute whodunits, but I also don't know what I'd do about my Jack Bauer fix. Did you all watch the first four hours of super-serialized "24"?! The gasps escaping my mouth almost dislocated my jaw.
Now onto Andy from Rock Hill who says:
"I assume from your comments that E-Ring will be back in the fall of 2006."
Now, this one was peculiar since I'm fairly certain that I've not once mentioned NBC's new Pentagon drama in this column. But, I appreciate the e-mail anyway, Andy, and will pass along to you that, while the future of "E-Ring" remains up in the air, there is reason for optimism. The show didn't have an easy go of it at the start of the season, seeing as it was scheduled opposite "Lost." A few months later, NBC flipped it and Martha Stewart's version of "The Apprentice," and the ratings for "E-Ring" improved enough in the new timeslot that NBC quickly picked up the show for the full season.
In December, it was drawing just shy of 10 million viewers a week. Those numbers don't demand an automatic renewal for fall of '06, but they're good enough that NBC will probably order a second season.
This e-mail was actually sent to me last May, but this is the perfect week to run it. After I bad-mouthed the last season of "American Idol," Cindy from Jacksonville, Florida, wrote:
"I was born in South Carolina. I remember great rock 'n' roll bands of the '70s, when rock 'n' roll was rock 'n' roll. The general public has been handed a bunch of idolized singers with a lot less talent than those you see on 'American Idol.' I am sick of inferior music coming across the airwaves. If it takes a show like 'American Idol' to send a message to the record producers, then so be it."
Well, I certainly don't want to defend the music that litters radio waves these days. But I also don't want to liken great rock from the '70s to the music that comes out of "American Idol" (as Cindy bravely does).
However, I do want to remind everyone that "American Idol" is now back on Fox, consuming most of that network's primetime hours, and no matter how much I may complain, it sure isn't going away anytime soon. So for the bazillion of you that love it, I hope you enjoy the new season. Me? Eh, maybe I'll just turn off the TV for once and pop in an old Tom Petty CD.
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