While I was watching television last night, I couldn't help but wonder: is HBO's slightly irritating high-brow marketing strategy to blame for The Wire's piddling ratings share? (I'm convinced, by the way, that the marketing strategy was pitched something like this: "We have a great show on our hands: it's energetic, emotional, entertaining - I know! Let's only focus on talking about how complicated and impossible to follow it is. Then we'll snag that coveted 35-to-pretentious demo. Victory!")
The reason I couldn't help but wonder was this: I was watching American Gladiators. Which had an extremely promising Nielsen debut on Sunday night and probably had nearly as many viewers on Monday. So in between the important intellectual tasks of trying to figure out if the Travelator is fixed or exactly how old Wolf is, my brain was doing something like this: American Gladiators, many viewers! The Wire, not so many viewers! American Gladiators, many viewers! The Wire, not so many viewers!
Eventually, the solution to The Wire's rating problems became clear:
morituri te salutamus
tags: American Gladiators, Hellga, Photoshop, television, The Wire
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3 comments:
Why must you always crack me up at work? WHY?
It took me a shamefully long time to figure out the joke. I kept looking at the images and thinking, Well this is a funny turn for HBO. Then I remembered that I was dumb.
The thing about clever stuff like this is that it always eventually comes true. One day we'll see network-sanctioned 'reality game' follow-ups for The Wire, The L Word, Masterpiece Theatre, you name it.
On a side note, the word verification code for my comment is 'yaychap,' which feels encouraging.
Was the "couldn't help but wonder" an intentional SATC reference? Just wonderin' myself ;o)
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