A Good Dealer Doesn't Use His Own Product

Television is the most influential and widely enjoyed entertainment medium in the world. Except, apparently, among the people who make and work in television. If you cover TV for any length of time, you learn that people in the TV biz watch, or at least say they watch, incredibly little TV. Especially their direct competition.

At the TV critics' tour panel for Bravo's upcoming Top Design (basically, Project Runway for home designers), the judges and hosts were asked how their show compared to HGTV's very similar Design Star. Never seen it, came the answer. (Host Todd Oldham has seen his own network's Top Chef. Loves it.) And at the panel for Sci-Fi's comics-based action show Painkiller Jane, the producer and stars were asked if they've seen NBC's Heroes, which has a major similarity to their show. (Like Heroes' cheerleader Claire, heroine Jane can miraculously heal from injuries.) Only one star would admit to having seen any of Heroes. "Great show," said executive producer Gil Grant. "Never watched it."

Now there are several explanations for this phenomenon. Maybe it's a little white lie. There's little to be gained by venturing an honest opinion about the work of a competitor or, worse, someone you might want to work with someday. Another is that show-makers are afraid of the effect on them."I'm not sure I want to be influenced by it," Grant said when a reporter asked, incredulously, how he could never have watched Heroes even out of curiosity. Or maybe TV stars and producers are just too busy, what with all those shooting schedules and personal-trainer sessions.

The final explanation is that, in fact, people who work in TV just aren't that into TV. Which, when you surf channels sometimes, would seem to explain a lot.