In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« Gabs's Blog
Can Gossip Girl Save the CW?
TV Guide magazine has an article this week with the above title. After reading it, I was steamed, to say the least.
Dawn Ostroff obviously cares about building a network that creates and airs shows that are of little substantive value. In the article, she says that "Gossip Girl is the poster child and it will be joined by a number of shows that are in that milieu."
For those of you who have read my blogs and posts in the past, it goes without saying that Supernatural is one of my favorite shows. This excellent gem of a show has the misfortune of airing on the CW, where it is undervalued, underappreciated, and woefully underpromoted. And I have had my fill of it.
With the influx of "female-oriented" shows, I worry about how Supernatural fits into the scheme of things for Ms. Ostroff. Supernatural is not a show that appeals only to a younger crowd. Most of my Supernatural blogging friends are over age 30 and from what I can tell, the fans of this show include everyone from teenagers to grandmothers!
I dare say that the shows that will air on the CW next year will not have the same audience.
Supernatural deserves so much better.
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 10:17 PM
|
I'm wondering, Gabs, what you really wanted to say there?
Supernatural is the only show on the CW I watch. So, too be fair, I haven't seen Gossip Girl, so maybe it's more than a teen soap that says that bed-hopping and underaged drinking has no severe consequences that the commercials make it out to be.
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 10:53 PM
|
Hi Gabs!
Let me join you in your anger against Ostroff and how out of touch she is with the CW's real demographic.
Imagine how irked I was when I read this little tidbit from her interview:
TVGuide.com: So what will the CW brand stand for going forward?
Ostroff: To a certain degree, female.
Um, WTF??!! Thanks for taking a crap on all of your male viewers, Ms. Ostroff.
I admit that I watch and enjoy Gossip Girl (though not nearly as much as I love Supernatural), but I also watch several other shows on her network (Smallville, Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, and Reaper)... all shows which I promote and tell other people that they are worthwhile. Now all of a sudden Ostroff only wants high school girls watching her network. Screw that. For the record, I graduated high school quite some time ago and I have a penis (which Ms. Ostroff is free to... well, ok I'll stop now, but you can understand why I'm pissed.)
Thanks for letting me vent, Gabs. (Sorry that it got a little PG-rated there at the end!)
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 11:00 PM
|
Actually Rod, you're being quite mild compared to some of the things that have been buzzing on the CW boards. Now that's real anger there.
Gabs, I think that the one thing that has been in our favor with SN is that Warner Brothers, the studio behind the show supports it 110%. As for Ms. Ostroff, well we always suspected that she wasn't very bright to begin with and now we've got proof.
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 11:09 PM
|
Unbelievable.
Supernatural deserves so much better.
You said it! As do other shows on the CW that don't fit into that very limiting mold.
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 11:28 PM
|
OMG...for the love of good TV, can one of these three things happen, PLEASE???
a) someone knock some sense into Ostroff's (air)head
b) someone FIRE her and get a much better replacement for her
c) some network out there who will appreiciate and treat the show with love and respect PICK UP SUPERNATURAL!!!
Oh Gabs, maybe the network execs in general have some hope seeing as how SN got renewed so quickly for Season 4, but I have given up hope for that...that woman! We've all heard the excuses, she just doesn't "get" SN, blah blah BLAH, but to hear this latest travesty of intelligence (or lack thereof) is...help me find the words, here! Well, that could be a word in itself...UNSPEAKABLE.
It really is an insult to anyone above their teens and twenties who watches the CW to push this kind of crap on them instead of building on the solid foundation that is an intelligent, individual show like SN. Lemme tell you, being in my early twenties, I am not the LEAST bit attracted to Gossip Girl or any show of its ilk; in fact, you'll recall me posting just last week during an SN rerun that seeing those profane, gratuitous sex-laden ads for GG at pratically EVERY commercial break was making me wanna puke. A backseat car romp with the overlying narration of the character in a church confessional saying she "lost her virginity to a complete *bleep*"...were we supposed to laugh? Or sympathize with her? I just plain cringed. Appealing to the younger crowd with this move, Ms. Ostroff? HARDLY!
So, and then the kicker, Ostroff-her-meds wants the network to be different and make noise and get attention...right. So she chooses to use the formula of a glorified young people's soap opera to accomplish this. Please tell me, what show doesn't resort to tired love triangles, empty and unfaithful 'romances', and 'shocking' sexual escapades to fill an episode? Don't know of many that don't...except for, hey, whaddya know...SUPERNATURAL!!!
If Ostroff wanted to make her network different and attention-grabbing, she'd turn to a show like SN, a show that features what so much of today's TV sadly ignores - the fight against evil in the outside world and within ourselves, the selflessness and heroism that can be found in ordinary individuals struggling to fight for what's right, and the REAL, UNDYING love and camraderie that can exist between family and friends. It's one of those few shows that are SMART and has SUBSTANCE and HEART. A show that, thank goodness, could care less about who's sleeping with who and who cheated on who and instead focuses on relationships that MATTER.
If Ostroff wants her flaky little teenage-girl-power network, then she'd better crank up her Spice Girls CD while hauling her butt and the ideas that shoot out of it over to Oxygen-Lite or Lifetime Junior...and she can take her Pussycat Doll-Babies and precious Gossip Girl with her. Cuz the fans of SN and any other CW show that dares to defy her pretty and promiscuous network dream, will have a lot to say...and say LOUDLY. And for her apparently much-needed info, building that network around Gossip Girl is like the foolish man building his house upon the sand (instead of the rock that is SN)...and we all know what happened there...the house on the sand went SPLAT!!!
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 11:42 PM
|
LOLOLOL, LOVED your rant, Rod! It definitely is a big crap on you male viewers, huh? I mean, I was insulted enough by her implication that Gossip Girl and the like is what all her young female viewers such as myself want, but I can only imagine how YOU must feel!
And to be post-rant fair, I haven't seen GG either. Quite frankly, after seeing (and seeing and seeing) the ads for it, I don't have an iota of desire to. As Whimsy said, maybe it's more than a teen soap that says that bed-hopping and underaged drinking has no severe consequences, but the ads sure don't make it out to be anything else. If that's what the CW wants to promote, don't expect me to help it along. And if those who watch the show know it's about more than what the ads portray, I'd encourage lots of honest fan promotions, the kind we SN fans have learned to live on.
|
|
Apr 21, 2008 11:52 PM
|
Well, I decided I'd go off and read the article myself before I made any judgments, and this is my conclusion:
Wow.
I am speechless (and those of you who've met me know what an amazing feat that is!)
So, let me get this straight- not only does she only want to target the younger demos, she wants to brand the CW as female-centric?
Correct me if I'm wrong...but if you're the head of a struggling network, isn't the ultimate game plan getting more viewers, not limiting your target area to a smaller demographic pool? Or is her goal to position the network as some sort of niche market for the teenybop crowd, the same way Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel target adult women?
Either way, you're alienating a large chunk of your current audience who watch shows like Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America and Reaper, not to mention Supernatural. As Rod so eloquently stated,
Thanks for taking a crap on all of your male viewers, Ms. Ostroff.
I guess I'll just wait and see how this all pans out. AIA and Reaper are already on the bubble; I wonder if this interview was Ms. Ostroff's way of popping said bubbles.
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 12:38 AM
|
Rod:
Thanks for taking a crap on your mail viewers...
Well said! Thanks for your point of view.
Kitty:
I'd be interested to know what other under-30s think of Ms. Ostroff's reasoning (such as it is). My daughter is 19 and she has watched Gossip Girl - twice - and deemed it "trash."
All - Thank you for your input!!
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 7:59 AM
|
Hi Gabs,
Well, I'm under 30 (Ok, I'll be 29 in May, but that still counts, doesn't it? Right? Not fearing the big 30 at all. Breathes deeply.) and I have watched Gossip Girl. Three episodes, I think. As big a fan as I was of Dawson's Creek and Felicity in their day, GG just didn't do it for me. It was the kind of show that I'd Tivo, and then forget to watch. Which pretty much tells you what I thought of it.
It seems odd to me that the CW would pin all their hopes on GG, esp. because it hasn't exactly been a ratings giant. I do think they have seen the light a little bit with their early renewal of SN, but I don't know why they think it has to be all one thing or the other with their demographic. Most networks skew one way or another, but as Met said, the aim is usually to offer things that target a few different demographics and up ultimate viewer numbers. I mean, does the CW have any idea how intense and loyal genre fans can be? And that we could be a huge resource, if only they had some idea of how to use us that way?
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 8:44 AM
|
Hoggle, just remember, it's not 30, it's twenty-ten. That's what I called it (I stole it from Fever Pitch).
I lost hope in the CW pretty much when it started. Ok, a year after it started I guess would be more fair. I am a VM fan and when they made them change the show, I hated that but I was glad they were willing to keep it on the air.
maybe it's more than a teen soap that says that bed-hopping and underaged drinking has no severe consequences
No it's not. I started watching Gossip Girl (sorry but I can't call it GG, that goes to a better show) because if Kristen Bell is doing the voice over. It's not a bad show, but it is just like all those other shows where the parents are just as dysfunctional as the kids so there isn't any hope for anyone on the show. I guess if that's what people want, that's fine to have but I don't see why we need many more of them.
For all SN fans, I hope they realize what they'd be loosing if they canceled it and keep it on for you. I think they will keep Smallville and SN for their "guy night" (which is bull but don't get me started on that) and make all the other nights more of Gossip Girl type show nights.
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 9:17 AM
|
Well the DODemon has certainly accomplished a couple of things with that interview...
1. She has managed to seriously piss off a large, loyal, extremely vocal group of fans who desire MORE from their television experience than mindless dreck. I'm not just talking about Supernatural fans either.
2. By authorizing shows such as PCSlutbags & that Farmer reality show, she is perpetuating the the "skankification" of the CW.
3. I haven't seen Gossip Girl, but, like others have said, those OMFG ads are NOT enticing me to tune in. Over-privileged, under-aged, morally-bankrupt characters are not something I'm interested in. It's really the under-aged part that burns me up. If they were 25 year olds, I probably wouldn't care either way.
4. She's convinced me that she is the RealLife equivalent of the WoO's Scarecrow (if she only had a brain!).
Young & hip doesn't have to mean under-age & skanky. DOD Should really be trying for smart, fun, & hip at any age. I know plenty of men & women who are waaaay over the DOD's target group who are young (at heart) & COOL...lots of them right here in this Community! Yet this is the demographic that DOD will willingly shun. That's ageism, babe.
One good thing though...the DOD has gotten us all fired up & talking about it. That means we're talking about the network. That means more people will join in & check out the CW to see what the hulabaloo is all about & maybe they'll stay for the quality programs that are there. I really only watch Supernatural, but have heard good things about some of the other shows.
Supernatural
Smallville
Aliens in America
Everybody Hates Chris
reaper (I know, I know)
Beauty & The Geek
Plus, we've got 13 coming this summer. That should be an interesting experiment. I am not a reality show person, but might give this one a try.
DOD has admitted to not "getting" Supernatural. But you "get" underage whoring around & underage drinking/drug use & having questionable morals???????
*shakes head* Fine. Let another exec handle everything related to SPN then, because you, my dear DOD, cannot not seem to buy a clue. She obviously has no freakin' idea of just who is watching her network.
Phew...I feel better now.
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 11:21 AM
|
Holy crap! That was a long rant! Sorry Gabs!
Also? Red Star!!!!!! W00T!!!
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 11:21 AM
|
Mannie - you're right, twenty ten sounds much better. And after that, I'll be twenty eleven.
In all seriousness, I just don't think that Gossip Girl is that good. I mean, the characters all seem like caricatures rather than real people. If it helps the CW get new viewers, that's great, I suppose, but there's so much more to be found on it.
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 11:27 AM
|
Okay as an older male I will admit to watching Gossip Girl and really enjoying it! People - I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish here! This is not a war between Supernatural ( a show that I LOVE) and Gossip Girl. In fact, (please don't hate me) Supernatural would only benefit if Gossip Girl drew in a new fanbase! Supernatural would only benefit if the CW had a larger fanbase!
I agree with you all about Dawn Ostroff. There is very little intelligence shown in her comments. No channel should try and limit their fanbase! Supernatural does not recieve enough publicity. I agree with all of those comments. I also think that if Gossip Girl were a lead in to Supernatural, viewership would only go up!
The only troubling thing I came away with after reading Dawn's comments were that I hope that she keeps her hands off of our favorite show!
Now here's for featuring a crossover episode of Supernatural/Gossip Girl! Can you imagine Sam & Dean dealing with demons while having to handle these spoiled rich brats! Now that's a show I would love to see!
|
|
Apr 22, 2008 11:40 AM
|
|
|
