Bubble Bobble - 
by B-side
Television viewers unite! Dyslexics untie! It's time to wake up your inner-activist, if only for a few minutes. It's Springtime in America which means that most of our favorite shows will soon be closing down shop for the long summer hiatus. However, not all programs will be happily returning in the fall. Some have already been shot down (Jag, Third Watch) while others wait in the industry purgatory known as "the bubble" -- as in, "this show's on the bubble." What is this enigmatic bubble? Well, think of it like this. You're outside of a club, waiting to get in, but the bouncer's being a jerk and making you wait. All the hot girls like Desperate Housewives and American Idol get to just cut the whole line, but sadly, you're just an average, nice guy named Arrested Development. You're really affable and pretty funny once people get to know you, but you're not good looking; so you have to wait outside until someone either lets you in or sends you away. So where does the bubble part come in? Well, the club is on a bubble, and if the bubble pops, everyone in line DIES. Yeah, it's a convoluted image. They should just call it "The Club Line".
Anyway, there's very little that viewers can do when their favorite shows are on the bubble. Some internet sites create petitions (seriously, just stop) and others erect billboards. We here at TVgasm don't portend to have any sort of network pull, but at the very least, we can alert you, the viewer, if there's something worth watching that might go bye-bye in the next few weeks. Maybe you'll watch it. Maybe the ratings will go up. Maybe the buzz will suddenly change. Probably not. But then again, industry people do read this blog. Wave to the people, executives!
The first show that I'd like to unabashedly campaign for is UPN's Kevin Hill. Yes, Kevin Hill. This is a gem of a show that has somehow been lost in the shuffle. The writing is sharp, funny, and natural. Honestly, there are more laughs on this show than most network sitcoms combined. Plus, for once we don't have to deal with ultra-serious Law & Order-ish courtroom cases. It's Justice Lite, and honestly, in a TV landscape dominated by cold procedurals and overwrought legal dramas, it's a welcome change. You also can't overlook Taye Diggs whose performance week in and week out anchors the series. He's backed by a strong supporting cast that has quietly gelled to form one of the best ensembles on television. Am I selling this too hard?
As for all the baby stuff, well, I'll speak the truth. I hate baby stuff. Usually, when I see babies on TV, I change the channel. But once again, it works here. There's not too much, and it's usually not too cheesy. Thankfully, the producers have shunned the typical acoustic guitar / baby closeup motifs that have sent me racing to the bathroom with a mouth full of vomit. Seriously, you don't want to see that.
Almost everyone I've forced to watch this show has enjoyed it and has even become a devout viewer in his or her own right. So why is Kevin Hill failing? Well, it's up against some stiff competition with Lost and American Idol. Plus I assume most guys think it's a girly show. Well, yes, it skews female, but I assure you that it's certainly more masculine than Desperate Housewives, and I guarantee the same men who turn their nose up at Kevin Hill are probably biting their nails, wondering what's next for Bree Van De Kamp and the mystery of Mary Alice Young. Also, another sad but true reality is that some people may think the series is too "urban", a criticism which is just ridiculous. Sadly, with other blogger-friendly shows like Arrested Development and Jack and Bobby hogging all the online chatter and petitions, Kevin Hill stands a good chance to get lost in the fray.
Having strong online appeal isn't necessarily a bad thing though. Arrested Development is the second show I'd like to happily endorse. Now I have a confession to make that might cost me my writer/hipster cred: I only started seriously watching this show about five weeks ago. (Pause for record scratch). Yes, I admit it. I was a TV fan, better yet, a TV comedy fan, and I didn't watch Arrested Development religiously. Here's the thing. When it first aired back in 2003, I was all excited and optimistic. Then I saw the pilot and felt, well, underwhelmed. The show was overly narrated, and while the jokes were funny, they just didn't pop for me. Having been a fan of Undeclared, Strangers With Candy and Andy Richter Controls the Universe, I considered myself well-versed in "untraditional" comedy. Therefore, after a few episodes of okay but not great humor, I whipped out my rubber stamp and declared Arrested Development officially overrated.
| 1 | 2 Next Page... ( Comments ) | Discuss In Our Forums