Liberal Talker Randi Rhodes Ending Show in May

Ouch. Well, at least this time, we Randi Rhodes fans got a little warning. Twice, we've endured sudden absences. As recently as a few months ago, The Randi Rhodes Show was slated for cancellation by Premiere Networks, and got a surprise year-long reprieve. So, this news is surprising, and not at all welcome.

The AM radio landscape is dying, led by a sponsor revolt at the whole format, mostly due to acerbic conservative host, Rush Limbaugh. Add to that the overall changes in media over the last couple of decades, and the concerted effort by radio network and station owners to squeeze liberal talk out of the market. Yes, yes, I'm aware that conservatives maintain that the people have spoken, and that they don't want liberal talk. If they'd ever gotten liberal talk on anything close to a level playing field, I might agree. But they haven't, and they didn't.

Randi, as well as The Stephanie Miller Show and others, were squeezed out of even Miller's own flagship station in Los Angeles in favor of Limbaugh, and the usual slate of conservative talkers. And is doing terribly. In fact, the whole genre is now doing terribly, and the right-wing side is only kept afloat by conservative think-tanks and like-minded groups. On the progressive side, not only are they fighting an uphill battle for programming, they don't seem to have the ear of monied liberal groups.

Randi has been hinting at a departure lately, and I figured this was coming. I thought it would be later this year, though. I know she has a good man in her life, and a home in Costa Rica, so maybe she's just sick of battling for a slot on the air. She seemed really bothered by several recent news stories, and has flat out said (paraphrasing) "it's time to go." As in leave this country.

In that, I wish her well. But I'll miss her New Yorker voice. Ironically, she herself admits she does not have a voice for radio! And she wasn't for all tastes. But since the days when I first found her, while looking for a new show called "The O'Franken Factor," way back in 2004, I've been a fan. And I'm hoping for some kind of revival at some point. Rest up, Randi, and come back in a new format!

[Excerpt]

Premiere: Randi Rhodes Show To End May 16th

A statement from PREMIERE said that RHODES "has decided to end her national radio program. We’ve had a successful partnership with RANDI for several years, and we wish her all the best for the future. PREMIERE NETWORKS will conclude syndication and production of RANDI RHODES on MAY 16th, 2014. . ."

Read more at: All Access

CNN Cancels Piers Morgan

Taran Killam will have to find a new news guy to mock
on SNL. Image from source, Raw Story.

While FOX "News" (and their fans) often point and laugh at MSNBC's ratings, the truth is, CNN would kill for even MSNBC's audience. Barring a huge news event--and those still tend to reflexively bring viewers to the channel--CNN is barely breathing, ratings-wise. CNN's own HLN (the horrible devolution of CNN Headline News, which was great) is the only major cable news channel with worse ratings.

So, while it's not a surprise that CNN needs to make changes, it's hard to figure out how they'd know where to start. I guess it's Piers Morgan being scapegoated first. Surely they wouldn't dump Anderson Cooper first. But they've got to do something.

Still, it's worth keeping in mind that cable news as a whole has a tiny, tiny audience. I watch The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC's top-rated program. But she manages only around a million viewers per program. And don't laugh too hard, FOX fans. Maddow's competition usually only gets about double her ratings, so it's not like it's any great shakes either.

[Excerpt]

CNN axing Piers Morgan’s show because of sagging ratings
 
CNN host Piers Morgan, the former British tabloid editor turned primetime successor to Larry King, will leave his show according to reports in the New York Times and POLITICO. Morgan has languished in the ratings, but achieved notoriety for his gun control advocacy in the wake of the Newtown shootings. Morgan’s show registered as few as 50,000 viewers in the 25-to-54 year-old demographic earlier this week, POLITICO noted. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Alec Baldwin Let Go from "Up Late"

Image from The Hollywood Reporter

I could see this coming before the premiere. I'll confess to liking Alec Baldwin since before Beetlejuice despite his mercurial real-life. He's had relationship troubles, he's had family troubles, he's had temper troubles all over the place. He's threatened to leave the country and threatened to quit show business, more than once. I've lost count of the legit tabloid scandals. But he's a great actor, and actually a smart and astute political mind.

There just isn't a forum for this guy that would work. It's amazing that he held it together for as long as he did on 30 Rock. And thank goodness he did, given how good both he and the show were. But starting with the promos that ran on MSNBC with Ed Schultz (awkward), and then the title ("Up Late" at 10 pm on a Friday night?), the show just didn't look like a winner.

Honestly, I think I caught at least part of each episode, mostly because I was probably finishing playing Candy Crush Saga after watching The Rachel Maddow Show. It wasn't a news show. It was more like a quiet PBS interview show, or maybe something like Tom Snyder used to do. I was actually very interested in his 2001: A Space Odyssey reunion with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. But it didn't ever feel like a real show, with a long-term future. How could it?

"My" Alec Baldwin, with Geena Davis, in
Beetlejuice

Sometimes I feel like I need to defend a liberal who has been sort of shamed out of a job, especially if the right is heaping undeserved scorn on them. Not so much with Alec. I will continue to enjoy his past works, and I'll keep an eye on what he does in the future. But this was bound to happen.

[Excerpt]
 

Alec Baldwin's MSNBC show "Up Late" is ending.

The New York Post reported Tuesday that the host has been fired. A spokesman for Baldwin raised objections to the word "fired," but told the Post, “The show is not coming back. He had questions on whether he wanted to continue. . .”

Read more at: Huffington Post

V and Brothers & Sisters Cancelled

One of these women is really a lizard person. The other
was on V. Kidding! Image from TVLine

If you are a tv watcher, this time of year can be a little nerve wracking. There are shows that are perennially "on the bubble", new shows that barely squeaked through the season that you really like. Or even long-running shows that maybe aren't getting as many viewers this year. I'm doomed to lose favorite shows every year, because my tastes run to programming that doesn't attract mass audiences. You know, science fiction, horror, supernatural stuff. If it's on HBO or maybe The CW, it can get renewed with anemic ratings. But not on the big networks.

I had high hopes for V, ABC's remake of the classic 80s sci-fi series. Morena Baccarin played an effectively creepy alien baddie, and the show had energy and momentum. But it also had some really odd CGI effects, and a serialized storyline that didn't grab casual viewers. I was thrilled that it got a second season, and am not surprised--though I'm sad--that it won't get a third.

Brothers & Sisters is a different story. It's a long-running soap opera of sorts, a very good fit to Desperate Housewives, which it follows. It has Sally Field, who cries a lot yes, but is a great actress. The show is loaded with good actors. I suspect that the decision to end the show had more to do with contract negotiations and behind-the-scenes problems. But this show I really will miss. I think the producers knew it might come to this, with the season finale feeling a lot like a final episode. Turns out, it was.

[Excerpt]

Breaking: ABC Cancels Brothers & Sisters, V, Mr. Sunshine, Four Others



Friday the 13th turned out to be doomsday for Brothers & Sisters and V: ABC has axed both shows. The Alphabet net also pulled the plug on rookie series No Ordinary Family, Off the Map, Better With You, Detroit 1-8-7 and Mr. Sunshine. . .
 
Read more at: TVLine

FOX TV Cancels Human Target and More

Mark Valley and Christian Slater, two oft-hired, oft-fired,
but talented men. Image from TVLine

Rats. Another DC Comics character-based project, Human Target has been cancelled, along with some other shows I mostly never heard of. Human Target starred the under appreciated Mark Valley (Keen Eddie, Boston Legal) as sort of a bodyguard for hire. The series started like a James Bond-on-TV kind of thing, and then shifted gears in its second season to be a lot more than that. I really dug it, and it wasn't even one of my favorite comics characters. But this is what often happens to shows I like, particularly sci-fi/horror/comic book series. So, attention Charmed, Smallville and Supernatural: the reason you got so many seasons is that I for some reason never watched you, even though you're in my sweet spot. The lesson for me: if you think a show is going to be super cool, wait for the DVDs, and do not write about it on the blog!

It should be noted that in addition to Mark Valley, we can add Chi McBride, Christian Slater, David Denman and Bret Harrison to a long list of actors who keep getting cast in short-lived projects. Harrison (Breaking In, V, The Loop, Reaper) has a list of failed series to rival Matthew Perry before Friends.

[Excerpt]

Fox Cancels Human Target, Lie To Me, Chicago Code, Two Others



Fox went on a killing spree late Tuesday, canceling five bubble shows including Human Target and Lie to Me. . .
 
Read more at: TVLine

Paul Reiser Show Cancelled After 2 Episodes

"No, kid, I shouldn't have done that to Ripley
in 'Aliens'." Image from source, TVLine

I watched both of them! And to be specific, though the show has aired twice, we're talking a span of eight days here. That's ridiculous. Was The Paul Reiser Show brilliant? No. Was it fall-down hilarious? No. But it wasn't intended to be. It's that sideways, sort of subtle kind of humor. It's not for everybody. I've only caught a couple of episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but the pacing and style of the show was like that. Clearly this show should have been on a Showtime or HBO, and not on a trigger-happy NBC. Seinfeld, arguably a show with a similar sensibility, wasn't a hit out of the gate. It took time to build. I don't know if Reiser would ever have developed into that kind of show, but it's impossible to tell much of anything after two weeks.

[Excerpt]

NBC Kicks The Paul Reiser Show to the Curb



NBC has pulled the plug on The Paul Reiser Show. Network sources confirm to The Futon Critic that the sitcom has been axed after only two outings. . .
 
Read more at: TVLine

MSNBC Finally Cancels Tucker Carlson

Photo from Raw Story

MSNBC finally cancelled their lowest rated news/commentary show, Tucker! The question politcs and news junkies are asking, "What took you so long?" And at the risk of losing one of my favorite radio shows, when is Rachel Maddow getting her own show?

[Excerpt]

MSNBC Cancels Tucker Carlson's Show

Insiders tell TVNewser Tucker Carlson's 6pmET show Tucker is getting the axe, but Carlson stays on as a political contributor to all MSNBC shows at least through the 2008 election. The official announcement, expected tomorrow, will include details about who will replace Tucker at 6pmET as well as other political programming additions. Sources say the network is going to beef up its schedule with more NBC News talent. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

FOX "News" Cancels 1/2 Hour News Hour

In the spirit of bipartisanship, I gave this show a chance. No, really, I did! I probably watched 3/4 of the episodes (at least in part) of The 1/2 Hour News Hour. While the two "anchors" actually had some chemistry and talent, they couldn't do much with the material.

And whoa, the material. Painful out-of-date groaners, mean-spirited digs at politicians and celebrities, and oh yeah, Dennis Miller. One of the original stars of the real Weekend Update finds himself an unfunny footnote on a Weekend Update/Daily Show ripoff. It was bad, just. . .bad. But you'd never know it from the laugh track. The laugh machine thought it was uproarious!

You can fool most of the FOX "News" viewing public most of the time, but I guess you can't make them think you're funny.

[Excerpt]

Fox’s Right-Wing Alternative To Daily Show Fails

In January, Fox announced that it would begin airing the “Half Hour News Hour” on Sunday nights, the so-called “right-wing answer to ‘The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.‘” “You can turn on any show and see Bush being bashed,” said creator Joel Surnow, producer of Fox’s 24.

“There really is nothing out there for those who want satire that tilts right.” As Fox has learned, that’s because no one wants to watch that kind of satire. . .

Read more at ThinkProgress.org