Comments on: Corporate Press Release Theater: NBC's Summer O' Scripts

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:50:24 +0000

I agree that it seems like a mass burnoff but I'd question whether it should be. Can all of these shows be any worse than what NBC aggressively promoted in the fall? The Listener just debuted internationally to great ratings. That doesn't guarantee American audiences will embrace it (hello The Mole) but seems like it should be worth a better gamble. Cable has proven that summer isn't the dead zone it used to be, and NBC is getting used to having cable-like ratings, so who knows, maybe one or more of these will do OK despite the apparent dumping by the network.

By: antilles13

antilles13 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:56:57 +0000

Reading the description of "The Philanthropist", all I can say is "Wow."
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vigilante - (adjective) done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures
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philanthropy - 1. altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.
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So, can someone please explain what exactly a "vigilante philanthropist" is? In the words of Toby Zeigler, "you just can't do that to the English language."
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@James- kudos for throwing in the Lost reference in the CNBC piece.

By: James Poniewozik

James Poniewozik — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:37:08 +0000

@Tom: I read this as summer burn-offs, with NBC just having more to torch than usual. IIRC, there were some delays and reshuffling on The Philanthropist, with Tom Fontana no longer in place as showrunner (though he is still credited as executive producer).

By: Tom Shaw

Tom Shaw — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:30:44 +0000

I'm somewhat surprised by The Philanthropist - I would have put good money down that the show would be shelved until Sundays in Winter 2010. It can't be a cast contract issue - by the time this airs in June, even if its a hit, all the actors will still be free(thus making another season quite difficult). Unless NBC simply wants all the remnants of their Annis Horribilis off the books by September, I don't think this makes any sense.
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I guess Top Gear USA is truly dead.
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Interesting that Medium & the two L&Os end their seasons well after the Fall schedules are announced. Given that NBC has shown signs of being concerned about all their price tags with their reduced timeslots next fall, I wonder if this counts as scheduling hardball.