Posted on 07/30/2010 9:09:01 AM PDT by rhema
Four and a half million Americans tuned in earlier this month to watch the second-season premiere of USA network's series, "White Collar"—a high number by any cable-channel's standards. The tale of an ex-con, forger and thief extraordinaire who partners with the FBI to solve white-collar crime, the series seems to have it all—big money, high society and dangerous villains. But the show is missing two ingredients seemingly inherent to modern television: sex and violence.
You might also notice that absence in the rest of USA's summer lineup. From "Royal Pains," about a concierge doctor treating Hampton's aristocracy on the fly, to "Psych," about a police detective masquerading as a psychic, USA's shows could easily feature carnality and carnage of one kind or another. But they don't. Even "Burn Notice" (about an ex-CIA agent) and the new "Covert Affairs" (about a budding agent) keep the gore and gunshots to a minimum.
According to the president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Bonnie Hammer, that's no coincidence. She told me that when NBC purchased USA and assumed command of its programming six years ago, her team developed a "filter" for the station's content that aimed to create "smart, fun escapism." Every USA program emphasizes that essential mission.
"USA shows don't purport to be anything other than enjoyable, hopefully intelligent TV," says "Burn Notice" creator and writer Matt Nix. "There's an audience for that kind of unapologetic television."
Apparently so. USA's filter-certified products secured it a record 15th-straight victory over fellow cable stations in quarterly viewing ratings earlier this year. A wilderness of repeats and wrestling less than a decade ago, the network has used its lighthearted model to conquer the cable world.
USA's accomplishment is all the more remarkable because it comes in the midst of a cultural moment on television teeming with
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I enjoy them all. They are easy to watch and mindless. Psych is my favorite.
I like how Burn Notice worked the relative lack of violent deaths into the show’s logic. It simply generates too much police attention, which interferes with the work. IIRC, the star has only killed one person, the guy who had just sent his girlfriend to her death, and it was quite necessary to the plot.
I regularly watch “white Collar” and “Covert Affairs”, and will watch “Burn Notice” if I have time. USA also used to run “Dead Zone”, which was another good show, suitable for the entire family. I almost never watch anything on NBC, but I will watch USA...
Psych and Burn Notice for me...I really wished that USA would have taken a flier and rescued Life from NBC.
I love Burn Notice
I LOVE this show — White Collar — and I think I’m going to like Covert Affairs just as much.
The plots are complicated and I like to watch each episode a couple of times because I learn someting new each time.
I really miss Monk, but these new shows are worthy substitutes. And they bring Monk back from time to time in their re-run line up.
Mrs. rhema and I like that, too. Monk is our all-time favorite USA Network offering.
Did they kill off Fiona, or was that a previous girl friend? (I'm not up on Burn Notice.)
I don't watch any of the CSI primarily because I can't stand the shows' aesthetics. It doesn't look like Vegas, it doesn't look like NYC and it doesn't look like Miami.
Dexter, which is shot in Manhattan Beach, does a fairly good job of looking like Miami, but even still, it frequently doesn't. I loved the pilot to Justified, primarily because it was shot on location in KY, and it just looked terrific. Then, of course, it moved production back to LA and it looked horrible - the Santa Monica mountains don't look like the Cumberland or Appalachian Mountains, ever.
It's called originality, creativity, and assuming that your audience has a functioning brain. All things that the 3 major networks are lacking.
I'd better start paying attention to USA's schedule. I thought the website was the only place to catch Monk reruns.
“I love Burn Notice.”
I agree, Fiona can use me to prop up her sniper rifle anytime she wants...
“In Plain Sight” is a good show as well.
And the pilot for “Rubicon” on AMC was outstanding!
And the A&E show “Glades” is really well done.
“Burn Notice.”
Awesome. Fiona is IT.
Bad guy had Fiona on the way back to Ireland to face certain death and was holding Michael at gunpoint until she was out of his reach. Michael had to shoot him to rescue her.
It was Fiona, but Weston was able to ride to the rescue after double tapping Strickler when he admitted setting her up.
What BS. If they don't have the courage to make the Muzzies the bad guys, then they should do what the Bond films and The Man From UNCLE did: invent some super-villains or some international crime syndicate. Sorry, but this is a hot-button issue with me. Only the Bellisarius-created shows like JAG and NCIS have had the courage to consistently feature mid-east terrorists. NCIS is becoming a little more PC, but last season did at least end with them squaring off against a Mexican drug cartel, which is a very real enemy.
In season 2, Henry Winkler (The Fonzie) has joined the cast as the loveable con artist father of the two main male Stars. Winkler has aged appropriately, yet he hasn't lost any of his "edge". God, he's great.
ABC says, "Hey, I resemble that remark!"
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