I'm watching Hardcore Pawn, waiting on the hustlers and

[one stroke]

What difference does it make how much crap there is on. That is why you have a changer. You could make the same comment about books published or movies that are released. We have free choice.

On most cable connections you have an average of 35,000 hours a week of programming. I don't know about you but I may watch TV maybe 35 hours a week. I think I can find something to watch that interests me.

No question there's plenty to watch ,, that's what part of the problem will be with the Hustlers ,, back when willie was on wide world of sports the percentage of viewers who saw him was astronomical you could walk into class or place of work and ask if anybody watched it and several if not the majority did , it was right before or right after dinner at a time when families actually sat at the dinner table ,willie was a household name
I bet I could roll into work and not find one or certainly not 2 who have seen the Hustlers so it will have to run for a pretty good while before it even scratches the surface , but that's all it needs to do to survive

1

 

[macguy]

No question there's plenty to watch ,, that's what part of the problem will be with the Hustlers ,, back when willie was on wide world of sports the percentage of viewers who saw him was astronomical you could walk into class or place of work and ask if anybody watched it and several if not the majority did , it was right before or right after dinner at a time when families actually sat at the dinner table ,willie was a household name
I bet I could roll into work and not find one or certainly not 2 who have seen the Hustlers so it will have to run for a pretty good while before it even scratches the surface , but that's all it needs to do to survive

1

Both Dick Van Dyke and Seinfeld were not going to be picked up after like 4 shows. They got lucky and were given a chance but it still took a full season to find any audience and several to actually move up in ratings.

Today Dick Van Dyke probably would not have a chance. I just read today that 41 network shows were just canceled. They were on when you had three networks and maybe 3 more local stations. Air time was valuable.

The difference today is, yes, there is a lot of competition but there are so many hours to fill almost anything can get a shot as long as it is cheap. Enter the reality show that cost like nothing to produce.

One of the first was Cops, It started with just stock news footage then they began actually producing the shows but it was still dirt cheap. Funniest Home Videos was another that cost nothing. They showed videos made by viewers they got for nothing.

AND the show was a hit. A hit show that cost nothing, they had struck gold with the reality show. No Ted Danson wanting a million an episode. Who needs them when you have a show with people who work for nothing.

The Hustlers if they can draw any audience at all can probably find a place for a while and maybe even a few knock offs. They certainly gave it a good time spot and a lead in by one of their top shows. I think The Hustlers got about as good a start as they could have ever hoped for.

 

[one stroke]

Both Dick Van Dyke and Seinfeld were not going to be picked up after like 4 shows. They got lucky and were given a chance but it still took a full season to find any audience and several to actually move up in ratings.

Today Dick Van Dyke probably would not have a chance. I just read today that 41 network shows were just canceled. They were on when you had three networks and maybe 3 more local stations. Air time was valuable.

The difference today is, yes, there is a lot of competition but there are so many hours to fill almost anything can get a shot as long as it is cheap. Enter the reality show that cost like nothing to produce.

One of the first was Cops, It started with just stock news footage then they began actually producing the shows but it was still dirt cheap. Funniest Home Videos was another that cost nothing. They showed videos made by viewers they got for nothing.

AND the show was a hit. A hit show that cost nothing, they had struck gold with the reality show. No Ted Danson wanting a million an episode. Who needs them when you have a show with people who work for nothing.

The Hustlers if they can draw any audience at all can probably find a place for a while and maybe even a few knock offs. They certainly gave it a good time spot and a lead in by one of their top shows. I think The Hustlers got about as good a start as they could have ever hoped for.

We are on the same page as far as the show is concerned I agree it does not have to do much ,, but it's light yrs away from reaching prime time viewing ,

1

 

[trob]

The history channel is a good example. They had no choice but to change. They were bankrupt. You can only show ww2 clips fo so long before you have to get inventive. I used to love there shows like modern marvels.

The promise of cable TV has not been kept. It is now for the most part nothing but trash. No matter how many Discovery and Military shows are out there, the truth is most content is aimed at people educated to an eighth grade level or less.

Even the The History Channel, once my favorite during its Hitler Channel origins, is now just a repository for hours and hours of re-runs of Pawn Stars, Ancient Aliens, UFO Stories, and American Pickers and other second-rate shows meant to pad out the time between their rare presentation of an actual historical show.

The good stuff is at the BBC, and other documentaries.

The purpose of most reality TV is to denigrate people and knock them into the dirt, that is, everyone except the final 'winner', who proudly stands on the corpses of the people they managed to somehow out-last, people who they formerly called 'team-mates.'

I watched the Hustlers last night for the first time, and did not see anything to recommend it except some pretty good pool shooting by a girl and by a double-amputee. Even Mike Dechaine didn't show much skill, though he won last night's competition. I think they could make the show a success by stressing the pool shots, the technique, and the skill needed to pull off shots and shape. In other words, a pool instruction show disguised as reality TV. But I doubt that is the way they will go - I think they will follow the usual reality format where one person has to verbally and mentally and without ethics nearly destroy every other person, just to be announced as 'the winner'.