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April 20, 2001

"Chains" Weak, "Weakest" Strong

The debut of two new reality series met with different results. UPN's "Chains of Love" debuted to dissappointing numbers, coming in 6th in its timeslot. While there was little improvement in the 18-49 category, the show scored lower than the timeslot's six-week average in total viewers. In "Chains of Love," a person is chained to 4 potential dates, and then gets rid of them one-by-one until one remains.

NBC's much-hyped "Weakest Link" came through for the network. The premiere of the British-import game show easily won its time perioed with more than 15 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The second outing of the show had less total viewers, but was up in the coveted 18-49 category.

In other "Weakest Link" news, TV Guide is reporting that several members of the original "Survivor" cast will compete against each other on a special "Weakest Link" to air in May.

Springer Gets "Greedy" in Britain

I don't know if you'd call it a fair trade, but as the British are giving us Anne Robinson and "The Weakest Link," we're sending over Jerry Springer as the host of a new version of "Greed." Fox aired the original version of the game show last season, with host Chuck Woolery. Fox has no plans to bring the show back over here. Springer will also continue hosting his daytime talk show, just in case you were worried.

Lawsuit Survival

CBS and the producers of "Survivor" are suing Fox for copying "Survivor" elements in their reality series, "Boot Camp." CBS says that they are just protecting their interests. Watching the two shows, one can see a lot of similarities. Besides just being a show where people vote each other off, there are challenges which can grant someone immunity from the vote, a "Dismissal Hill" which is similar to "Tribal Council," and, heck, even the opens for both shows contain a shot of an alligator. But does CBS have a legal ground to stand on?

After all, copying successful shows is like the prime-directive of television programming, ever since people were watching entertainment on small 8-inch black-and-white picture tubes. Look at every late-night talk show since Steve Allen's "Tonight." And doesn't "Friends," a show about friends who live in New York City and hang out at a coffee shop, seem like a similar concept to "Seinfeld," a show about friends who live in New York City and hang out at a coffee shop?

Obviously, CBS's legal department believe they have a case. But if I were CBS, I'd be careful about what I'd wish for. After all, I do believe NBC's "Tonight" came before CBS's "Late Show."

May The Force Be Delayed

There's a disturbance in The Force, and its called low ad revenue. That's what Fox would be facing if they aired "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace" in April like they originally planned. Even though they have already been promoting April 29th as the airdate, they have decided to hold the movie until November. With the current economy, the advertising market is soft now, and the network believes they can get more ad revenue from the movie if they air it in November, when viewership will likely be higher.

Rosie's Replacement

Rosie O'Donnell will be stepping down from her talk show hosting duties at the end of this season, and Warner Bros. Domestic Television is looking for a new host for the syndicated daytime talk show. The New York Post is reporting that Caroline Rhea ("Sabrina, The Teenage Witch") is a front-runner for the hosting gig. According to the report, Rhea and Warner Bros. are meeting this week to discuss the possibility.

Survivor Secret

This season, the identity of the winner of "Survivor: The Australian Outback" is so secret, the winner doesn't even know yet. Unlike the first season, all of the ballots of the final vote have been sealed since the last tribal council, which was taped last fall. The winner will find out with the rest of the viewers when the ballots are opened and read live on the air during the season finale in May.

News Bits

NBC has renewed "Just Shoot Me" for 2 more seasons.
Valerie Bertinelli returns to series television when she joins the cast of "Touched by an Angel," starting on the April 29th episode.
Kathleen Turner will guest start on "Friends," playing the roll of Chandler's cross-dressing father.
The April 30th episode of "Ally McBeal" will feature guest-stars Sting, Paul Reubens, Cheri Oteri, female impersonator Jim Bailey, and internet star Cindy Margolis.